Best movie of this year hands down!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Kenneth Williams was an English stage, radio and film actor, best known for camp roles in the Carry On films. He was also a homosexual who was desperately ashamed of, and unhappy about, his homosexuality and consequently remained celibate. He died in his early 60s, leaving behind a lifetime of diaries which told the personal story of this deeply conflicted man.It is a strength of this film that, notwithstanding that it is often very funny, the viewer is never far away from the dreadful contrast between the fun and happiness which Williams brought to others and the lack of happiness he enjoyed personally.The supporting cast here is fine, but the film belongs to Michael Sheen who loses himself in creating a Kenneth Williams for whom your heart breaks in a way it never did for the real person during his lifetime due to the way he kept himself so intensely private.

To me, Kenneth Williams was a comic genius. I grew up on the Carry on franchise, and the performances of Williams always were one of the main reasons why I am so fond of them. That's not all, he was a fine comedian with a voice and mannerisms that were so distinctive. I was looking forward to watching Fantabulosa! since hearing so many good things about it, and while I was expecting it to be at least watchable, I honestly wasn't expecting something this affectionate and genuinely moving.A big reason why Fantabulosa! worked was the performance of Michael Sheen. Sheen is a brilliant actor, who always gives his all into everything he plays, and while I had no doubt he would be great as Williams, a tour-de-force of a performance I was not expecting. For that's what Sheen's performance is, one of sheer brilliance. He perfectly nails Williams' mannerisms without falling into the trap of falling into caricature, and the tragic elements to his performance are brought out to genuinely affecting effect.Sheen has a solid support cast too. We have Cheryl Campbell, who is excellent as the mother. There is Kenny Doughty, who does a fine job as Joe Orton. And there is also Peter Wight who is solid as always. The rest of the Carry On team give fun performances as well even if they aren't the main focus, Beatie Edney and David Charles especially are good as Joan Sims and Charles Hawtrey and Ged McKenna is good enough as Sidney James, but at the end of the day it is Sheen who rides heads and shoulders above the rest. The drama is lovingly directed too, with both the comic and tragic elements well-fleshed out without being needlessly flashy.Fantabulosa! is beautifully shot, and the period detail is beautifully evoked. The background scoring is always sensitive and never over-bearing, also it fits perfectly with the mood of each scene. The script deserves a lot of credit; not only does it not allow the characters to fall into caricature or send themselves up and giving them depth and humanity in the process but the comic elements are hilarious and the tragic ones are poignant and sometimes painful. The story is episodic perhaps in its structure, but for me it doesn't matter when Fantabulosa! has as much involvement and heart as it does, and that the story based on Williams' diaries is that engrossing.All in all, wonderful and worth seeing for Sheen's magnificent performance alone. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This is a "docu-drama" of (mostly) the later years of KW's life, with nearly all the parts played by actors (but spot which TV quartermaster plays himself!). It was made for the BBC4 arts channel but my guess is there will be syndication and DVD releases soon. KW is ably played by the excellent Michael Sheen, here repeating his previous stage role with great success. Most of the supporting cast are also very good, and a nice touch is the recreation of period TV appearances with the new actors. This is not, however, light viewing - anyone familiar with KW's diaries and general unhappy demeanour will already know how twisted he could be in later life - so don't expect 80 minutes of Carry On styled buffoonery, since the emphasis is decidedly downbeat throughout. Recommended, but it's tragi-comic, indeed.

A wonderful little production. The filming technique is very unassuming- very old-time-BBC fashion and gives a comforting, and sometimes discomforting, sense of realism to the entire piece. The actors are extremely well chosen- Michael Sheen not only "has got all the polari" but he has all the voices down pat too! You can truly see the seamless editing guided by the references to Williams' diary entries, not only is it well worth the watching but it is a terrificly written and performed piece. A masterful production about one of the great master's of comedy and his life. The realism really comes home with the little things: the fantasy of the guard which, rather than use the traditional 'dream' techniques remains solid then disappears. It plays on our knowledge and our senses, particularly with the scenes concerning Orton and Halliwell and the sets (particularly of their flat with Halliwell's murals decorating every surface) are terribly well done.