Why so much hype?

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Fresh and Exciting

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

The reason I decided to watch "Staggered" is because I really like Martin Clunes in his British TV show "Doc Martin". However, there isn't a lot about this 1994 film that reminds me of the great TV show. "Staggered" is directed by and stars Clunes. He's Neil...a guy anticipating his wedding in only a few days. However, he has no idea that his Best Man is a total scum-bag and goes out to celebrate with Gary. Gary drugs Neil and Neil awakens to find himself in the middle of no where in Scotland....naked! The rest of the film consists of Neil trying to make it back to London for his wedding and finding, again and again, that Gary and his unknown co- conspirator will stop at nothing to stop the wedding--even if it means setting him up for crimes he's never committed.I think the idea of the film is quite good. But I give this one a 5 because too many times the plot just doesn't make ANY sense whatsoever. It took way too long for Neil to realize that Gary was not his friend (who is THAT naive?!), his inexplicable and easy escape and many, many serious problems just magically resolved themselves. Overall, good for a few laughs but not a particularly distinguished film.

When I recently checked the TV schedules and saw that this was on the menu I made sure that I programmed my video recorder, and I was not disappointed with the end product! Martin Clunes is the hapless groom who is spirited away to a remote Scottish island by his devious best mate, and has to find his way back to the church on time to tie the matrimonial knot. There are plenty of laughs along the way and Sylvia Syms is superb as Margaret, the domineering mother-in-law from hell, who detests the very sight of poor Neil (Clunes). Griff Rhys Jones is great as the pervy salesman, resplendent in leather/spiky bondage pants! The characterisation is spot-on throughout and the performances make for an entertaining romp, even though you have to suspend belief for some of the scenes (I'm sure a that a near-naked man would arouse more interest even at a remote Scottish airport, but that is a very minor point). Even Neil Morrissey, Clunes's sidekick from the hit comedy "Men Behaving Badly" gets in on the act as the wedding videographer. All in all, a very engaging British comedy which had me smiling and laughing out loud more than I could have previously imagined. (8/10)

Definitely an under-rated comedy. But I also wonder if there's more going on than comedy? The whole structure - Neil's journey home with trials, tribulations and odd characters detaining him, ending with the confrontation with a rival suitor, seemed to allude strongly to the Odyssey. There were strange elements too: why the final flashback to the police station, with the pan back in 'tunnel vision' style from the dark fading scene, before we see another, unknown, man finding himself naked in Scotland (and presumably beginning a similar journey)? And there was the constant allusion to death: the old woman rowing Neil to the mainland; Carmen's speech about death being the natural state of things; Neil's confrontation with the gunman; and the autopsy dream sequence. I kept thinking of "Jacob's Ladder" (whose hero, like Neil, spent the film nursing a painful injury, had a hallucinatory sequence of being vivisected while denying he was dead, and ended up embracing death). Are the events in "Staggered" Neil's near-death fabulation?

This often overlooked gem from Martin Clunes is one of my favorite films of all time. The typical British comedy style is on show, with ecentric characters (bondage parties by Welsh door-to-door sales men) and a central character who you do geniunely feel sympathetic for in his fight to get to his wedding on time. However the highlight of the film is the beautiful Anna Chancellor as Carman, the goth pathologist who Gary picks up on his travels. With a perfect ending and tale of the underdog its defiantly worth renting or catching on TV.