7 DAYS IN HELL
US, 2015, 45 minutes, Colour.
Andy Sandberg, Kit Harrington, Fred Armisen, Michael Sheen, Karen Gillen, Will Forte, Howie Mandel, June Squibb, Mary Steenbergen, Lena Dunham, – and, as themselves, David Copperfield, Jim Lamley, John Mc Enroe, Serena Williams, Chris effort, Dolph Lundgren. Narrated by Jon Hamm.
Directed by Jake Szymanski.
This is a short feature, only 45 minutes. It is the kind of film that could have been made by the Saturday Night Live team. It is not a deep, existential film of torment over a week, although there is existential torment. But, it is experienced by to champion tennis players during the final at Wimbledon. While this is an American film, it has a British setting, British characters – and an excursion to Sweden.
The premise reminds audiences that, once upon a time, tennis matches could continue at length until there was a victory by two games. (That is no longer the case.) However, the screenplay imagines what it is like for the game to continue and to continue and to continue over a period of seven days.
And, with wild imagination from the screenwriter as well is the performances, all kinds of dramatic and comic excursions in flashbacks take place.
The film is a star vehicle for comedian Andy Sandberg who obviously relishes his role as a champion tennis player, abandoned by his parents, taken in by the Williams family – with Serena Williams herself participating and doing talking head commentary about her brother (verse and the reverse of the plot of The Blind Side). Speaking of Serena Williams, there is commentary throughout the film by Chris effort, bemused by the match, and the familiar kind of commentary, sharp and critical by John McEnroe. And, there are a number of characters who serve as television commentators, notably Fred Amundson as a supercilious Englishman.
Sandberg’s opponent is played by Kit Harrington, most famous for his role in Game of Thrones. He plays the rather slow tennis hero, dominated by his mother (Mary Steenbergen), responding to television interviews with “indubitably”. There are some priceless scenes where he is interviewed on a television program by a very effete camp interviewer played expertly by Michael Sheen.
As the film opens, Sandberg its a very hard a’s, knocking down an official, killing him, the crowd branding him as murderer. He then disappears for some time, turning up in Sweden, designing men’s underwear, imprisoned when the underwear courses rashes, seen in a very comfortable Swedish prison, challenged by his opponents interview comments, making his escape, returning to Wimbledon. Indiscreet himself earlier by responding badly to the crowd and knocking the Duke of Kent to the ground. So, there are also pokes of royalty, not only to the Duke of Kent but with phone calls from Her Majesty, rather rough language than the Queen would ever use, and her finally appearing at Wimbledon, urging him on, played by June Squibb.
And, the days go on, all kinds of interruptions and jokes, the two exhausted and the final collapse.
As with this kind of comedy, a lot of the visuals and the language are no holds barred!
