John Boorman in his first outing as a director, he does a reasonable job of capturing the media and fashion scene in 1965. He also presents some great shots of the handsome, iconic locations in London, Bath and then Devon. Filmgoers can clearly see the similarities of this film, with Dick Lester's Beatles 1964 film, 'Hard Days Night' by the frantic scurrying around by Dave and his group in an attempt to give the film energy. Nevertheless, under Boorman's direction the film has pace and tempo, hence never allowing scenes to drag. However, like all films with pop singers and groups, the acting is substandard. The problem for Boorman was to have the group hanging around locations while in the background, Dave Clark as Steve, is grabbing all the action as well as the beautiful model, played by Barbara Ferris. At times I felt sorry for them, as they were never more than shadows, gawping at Dave as he had all the lines. The storyline is thin and lacks sparkle. Ferris comes across as a bit of an airhead model and Dave Clark, as Steve, looks sullen, moody and plain miserable for most of the time. His acting is rather wooden and as he had the lead role, watching the film is heavy going. With a dull and melancholy storyline, I found the whole thing uninspiring and pretentious.
Review of Having a Wild Weekend
Having a Wild Weekend
(1965)
Good photography and interesting locations but.......
15 September 2020