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

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Coogan was excellent in this, the whole part with him and his daughter passing away was extremely well done and certainly jerked the heart strings, after watching this I read lots on his life, it was very sad to see his only real love was his daughter and after her nothing replaced her, and he lived a recluse much like Howard Hughes did in his high rise Penthouse, all his money when he died went to distant relatives who now live in his Penthouse rich without a worry in the world, and probably without knowing what went on there. Coogan is a good serious actor, I would like to see him in more things like this, he is a very versatile actor.

As with almost all biopics, half the battle with LoL is having an interest (passing or otherwise) in the life and times of the subject, in this case Soho porn purveyor Paul Raymond. To be fair however, there are enough interesting performances to haul the less committed viewer through to the end. The turns by Imogen Poots as Raymond's daughter Debbie and Chris Addison as Men Only boss Tony Power stand out, and it is never difficult to watch Anna Friel, here playing Raymond's wife Jean. Coogan himself is at the centre of everything, however the story almost seems to take place around him, with many events happening to Raymond rather than being driven by him. There are plenty of British thesps to spot, with David Walliams being prominent among them, and the production design deserves high billing for the glorious memories of time and place that it evokes. An amusing diversion, but there are difficult moments, and it's not all fluff and smut, the 18 certificate is deserved for various reasons. In the end, the film is unlikely to live long in the memory.

Recounting the life of porn king and entrepreneur Paul Raymond, THE LOOK OF LOVE tells the story of a self-made man, born Geoffrey Quinn, who rose to become Britain's richest man. He achieved this by buying innumerable properties and setting up a porn empire that at its height included the Raymond Revuebar, the Windmill Theatre, the Whitehall Theatre, plus two best-selling magazines, "Men Only" and "Club International." Despite such success, Raymond - as characterized by Steve Coogan - remained a fundamentally unhappy man. Obsessed with the idea of proving his virility, he spent most of his time bedding young women as well as taking vicarious pleasure in watching women perform various sex acts on stage. Although his daughter Debbie (Imogen Poots) was devoted to him, Raymond remained indifferent to her - unless, that is, she could make more money for him, He cast her in an ill-starred revue, "Royalty Follies," in a leading role for which she was completely unsuited. The only time Raymond actually missed her was at her death due to a drug overdose. Michael Winterbottom's film makes no judgment on Raymond, but nonetheless suggests the emptiness of the world he created - neither titillating nor sexy, it simply treated women as objects. The film does a brilliant job of recreating the seedy Soho world of the Sixties and Seventies, with its grimy streets and tatty shops. Steve Coogan does a wonderful job in the leading role; he is proving to be a talented performer in a variety of vehicles. THE LOOK OF LOVE contains a gallery of cameo roles from British comedians, including Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas, David Wallians and Miles Jupp; but its story remains a fundamentally melancholy one to tell.

With the recent release of the UK's rich list in The Sunday Times, the timing of the release of Michael Winterbottom's biopic of Paul Raymond, one of Britain's very own millionaires, seems appropriate. With a cast reading like a UK comedy rich list, led by 'the man who thinks he's it', Steve Coogan, a film about one of Britain's most famed smut peddlers has the potential to go any number of ways.Charting his rise from lowly entertainer to Britain's richest man, the focus of much of the plot is on his relationships with the most important women in his life: his wife, Jean Raymond (Anna Friel), his lover Fiona Richmond (Tamsin Egerton) and, most importantly, his daughter, Debbie (Imogen Poots). While riding the wave of success his money brings, gradually, each of these relationships breaks down as he fails to leave the clubs, magazines and women behind and form a normal life.Starting in black and white, in what seems like a slow-paced montage, Winterbottom adds colour to the screen as the Soho nightlife begins and the female clothing ends. The film then dives into a world of sex and drugs and every hole's a goal, as the money builds and Raymond's fancies change.While the main plot focus is on Raymond's relationships, these are often interspersed with scenes from his various nude shows or photo shoots for magazines that leave little to the imagination. These could, perhaps, have been toned down a little, or even left out, but being that this is a Michael Winterbottom film, there is a sense of trying to push boundaries, though this lacks the ambitious nature of 'A Cock and Bull Story' of the ground-breaking release of '9 Songs'.The juxtaposition of music gigs and full sex scenes in '9 Songs'; the dialogue between Coogan and Rob Brydon and English countryside in 'The Trip' manifest here as love and lust in Raymond's life, with his love of the women in his life sabotaged by his lust for looking at beautiful women naked and results in a decent little film, but never pushing too far beyond that. More could have been done to add humour into the script or put more into his troubled relationships, rather than filling time with scenes that result from the BBFC's more relaxed governing – a situation Winterbottom helped create.The performances here are good, though you do want Coogan to let out an 'ah-ha' every now and then, showing he is yet to fully shake the monkey off his back. Imogen Poots is convincing enough in making you believe she's the annoying result of a slightly warped upbringing; and Chris Addison shows he is perhaps more method actor than stand-up comedian. Though Dara O'Briain will never pull-off an 80s Alexei Sayle.British films featuring a cast of comedians with a slightly raunchy theme come from a long line in tradition of being neither sexy nor funny. 'The Look of Love' does not follow a similar path, though perhaps here, much like with Raymond himself, lust slightly overpowers love, leaving neither fully satisfied. politic1983.blogspot.com