I must admit, given the people involved and the reports of back projection and newspaper sets, I was reasonably worried this would be nothing more than a big screen version of The Mighty Boosh, but I was driven to see it by a flood of fond reviews, and I'm glad I did.
There's a fair amount of comedy in the movie (most of it courtesy of Simon Farnaby, the British Kramer as far as I'm concerned) but a fair amount of drama too. The approach is novel but never a novelty, with the memories of Stephen (an impossible-to-dislike Edward Hogg) played out in surreal fantasy as he's prompted to them by artifacts in his rarely-left home. Essentially, the film is a road trip across Europe, with involvement from curious characters and the sort of amusing threats you'd associate with such a film. Of the cast, most impressive is Verónica Echegui, a barely contained Spanish dynamo of hilarity.
I'd rather keep any other specifics out of the review, as to see it fresh as I did is surely the most enjoyable way. I can say that if you're a curious fan of The Mighty Boosh, you're bound to enjoy it, but writer/ director Paul King's achievement is making it appealing to people outside that group as well, as a proper, heartfelt film and not just a selection of wacky sketches and funny voices. The DVD features a decent selection of extras including interviews with the leads and King, and a Shaun Of The Dead-esque flipchart feature.
A pleasant surprise, and an earnest recommendation.