HELLO LADIES
US, 2014, 80 minutes, Colour.
Stephen Merchant, Christine Woods, Nate Torrence, Stephen topple off ski, Nicole Kidman, Carly Craig, Crista Flanagan, Kevin Weisman, Kyle Mooney, Adam Campbell.
Directed by Stephen Merchant.
Hello Ladies is a television film derived from the television series of the same name, produced in 2013. It is the work of British comedian, Stephen Merchant, who stars in the series and the film, and also directs. His appeared in a number of comedies, sometimes with Ricky Gervais, very tall, capitalising on being tall and gangly as well as being awkward, creating awkward situations, but also getting out of them with ingenious humour.
Hello Ladies is the line that he and his friend, Wade (Nate Torrence) use when they meet women in bars or at socials. It really works – although the awkward Wade encounters a lonely, somewhat heavy, woman in the bar and they hit it off instantly and completely.
In the meantime, Stephen Merchant’s Stuart is living in Los Angeles, sharing an apartment with Jessica (Christine Woods). She is a would-be actress and there is a humorous sequence where she does an audition for a yoghurt commercial responding to the hyper- demands of the director. She decides to give up acting and Stuart advises her to go back to college – which she eventually does.
The film is very episodic, drawing on the television series, Stuart and Wade and their encounters, other friends, especially one who is the adviser to a millionaire, played by Stephen Tobolowsky, preening on his yacht.
There is a complication when Stuart’s former girlfriend comes from London with her fiance and he takes them to a party when Nicole Kidman is present. Nicole Kidman proves herself a good sport in playing along with Stuart’s intrusive demands that they have a conversation to indicate that they are friends so that he will impress Jessica and the friends from London. They would also like a photo and, again, Nicole agrees to help. The night is a great success.
Stuart is basically lonely, awkward with women, has a one night stand with Jessica and thinks that they can date – but she puts him off. Life goes on, Stuart meandering through it. Eventually Jessica invites him to her 31st birthday party (the film opening with her 30th). He attends, feels out of place – but, he explains to Jessica his percentage theory of relationships, whether percentagewise one is comfortable with the other person compared with the lower percentage of antagonism! This seems to provide a basis for Stuart and Jessica being together.
Very slight, a comment on the dating scene, worth catching the Nicole Kidman episode, and an opportunity to see Stephen Merchant’s comic style – which he capitalised on in his feature film, Fighting with the Family.
