PAUL DOOD’S DEADLY LUNCH BREAK (2021)

Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break (2021)
Written by Matt White, Brook Driver, Nick Gillespie
Directed by Nick Gillespie

Review by: Mark Walker

A weedy charity-shop worker is set on winning the big national talent show. But when the actions of 5 selfish people cause him to miss his audition, he sets out to seek deathly revenge. It's 1 lunch break, 5 spectacular murders.
(IMDB)

People see Paul Dood (wonderfully played by Tom Meeten) as a bit of a loser. He works in a charity shop with other misfits and lives at home with his elderly mum (June Watson). But his heart is in the right place, and he loves his mum.


And she loves him.

So much so that she supports his dreams to win the big talent contest Paul is obsessed with. Paul is so invested in the talent show that he posts videos and live streams charting his journey to stardom on the social media site “Trend Ladder” a popularity contest where everyone is vying for the top rung. However, when Paul realises he has mixed up his dates, he has just a few hours to get to the audition or his dreams may end up in tatters.

With his mum in a wheelchair, Paul embarks on a hero’s journey that is thwarted at every turn by officious railway staff, frustrated shop-owners, dodgy church-folk and celebrity judge, Jack Tapp (Kevin Bishop) who makes Simon Cowell look like Charlie Brown.

Paul’s dream ends in disaster, and he finally cracks a few days later as he sets out on a poorly planned rampage of revenge against all those he holds responsible for his audition failure, live-streaming his deadly lunch break all the way.

Paul Dood’ Deadly Lunchbreak is a mildly gory, light-hearted look at one man’s limits; it’s Falling Down in the English suburbs mixed with interpretive dance. It is, on the whole, a silly film, played for fun, but with an underlying warmth and love for its lead character. Regardless of whatever you think about Paul’s actions on his deadly lunchbreak, you are on his side all the way as he fights to overcome the arseholes in life who won’t let people just be who they are.

As Paul livestreams his lunchbreak, his popularity on TrendLadder soars, propelling him into the stardom he wanted from his audition, but for hugely different reasons. As the reality of his spree becomes evident, he is elevated to local hero, before a final standoff where…. Well, you will have to watch to find out, I don’t want to spoil anything!

Ultimately, Paul Dood’s deadly lunch break shows him that he doesn’t need to seek adoration from the faceless people on social media, that the important people to him have always been right there in front of him, it just takes a few deaths to figure that out.

I loved this film and can’t recommend it highly enough. It not high art (whatever the hell that is supposed to mean) but is an hour and a half of pure fun and joy with a great cast of characters played by some of our greatest domestic talent. Paul Dood mixes with the likes of Katherine Parkinson, Kris Marshall, Johnny Vegas, Mandeep Dhillon, Craig Parkinson, Pippa Haywood, Alice Lowe and Steve Oram. And there are some great minor characters mixed in as well; keep an eye out for the women who stumble across Paul in the local skate park!

Visually, the film looks great. It is mostly intimately shot, with a lot of interiors so you don’t get sweeping vistas and widescreen photography, but you don’t need it. You need to be intimate with Paul to understand him and empathise with his journey. The way the film is shot and written does that perfectly.

Not only is it very funny in places, but it also loves its lead. It would be easy to criticise Paul Dood for scoring laughs at the expense of Paul and his life. But it doesn’t. The main “digs” at Paul come from the arsehole characters around him who see him as a joke, but the film is never directly cruel to Paul. It is an interesting take on the impact of Talent Shows and the dubious value of entertainment that encourages you to laugh at “losers.” It is everyone other than Paul that is the problem here. Paul is harmless, loving and caring and many of those around him don’t deserve him.

The style and feel of the film (and some of the cast) reminded me a lot of Sightseers so, if you had a good time with that couple (who also show up here) then I think you are going to enjoy spending a lunch break with Paul Dood. This is low-budget filmmaking at its best. Paul Dood won’t trouble the Oscars, but it was never meant to and although It’s a bit rough around the edges, much like its lead, that just adds to its charm.
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Unlike Jack Tapp, why not give Paul Dood a chance?

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