Martin Gooch’s film about an obsessive search for a lost brother throws out a barrage of whimsy but racks up too little emotion tension
Douglas Adams paperbacks and Time Bandits posters – writer-director Martin Gooch likes to put well-thumbed influences to use as onscreen props. But while his 2013 sci-fi comedy, getting a belated release, bubbles with nerdy zeal, it can’t quite bottle the pathos of Terry Gilliam’s irrepressible dreamers. David Jones, played by Gooch, is a fortysomething kidult using a £60,000 lottery win to fund his obsessive search for the brother he believes, to the exasperation of everyone around him, was abducted by aliens as a child. Fondly teasing UFO conspiracy theorists and tabletop-gaming hobbyists, The Search for Simon’s whimsy barrage is admirably detailed – from a fake BBFC certificate to comedy acronyms (British AeroSpace Technology Advanced Research Development Division). But the film waits too long before permitting us...
Douglas Adams paperbacks and Time Bandits posters – writer-director Martin Gooch likes to put well-thumbed influences to use as onscreen props. But while his 2013 sci-fi comedy, getting a belated release, bubbles with nerdy zeal, it can’t quite bottle the pathos of Terry Gilliam’s irrepressible dreamers. David Jones, played by Gooch, is a fortysomething kidult using a £60,000 lottery win to fund his obsessive search for the brother he believes, to the exasperation of everyone around him, was abducted by aliens as a child. Fondly teasing UFO conspiracy theorists and tabletop-gaming hobbyists, The Search for Simon’s whimsy barrage is admirably detailed – from a fake BBFC certificate to comedy acronyms (British AeroSpace Technology Advanced Research Development Division). But the film waits too long before permitting us...
- 12/1/2016
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
Shaun of the Dead meets the X Files! – The Search for Simon
TomCat Films is proud to present The Search for Simon. “With references to Doctor Who, Douglas Adams, Monty Python and more, Martin stakes his claim to a very English kind of film, blending science fiction, drama and comedy in a charmingly off-beat manner.” – The London Film Review David has spent years traveling the UK and ...
Hnn | Horrornews.net - Official News Site...
TomCat Films is proud to present The Search for Simon. “With references to Doctor Who, Douglas Adams, Monty Python and more, Martin stakes his claim to a very English kind of film, blending science fiction, drama and comedy in a charmingly off-beat manner.” – The London Film Review David has spent years traveling the UK and ...
Hnn | Horrornews.net - Official News Site...
- 8/20/2015
- by Horrornews.net
- Horror News
Starring Carol Cleveland (Monty Python), Sophie Aldred (Doctor Who), Tom Price (Torchwood) and Chase Masterson (Star Trek: Deep Space 9), The Search for Simon follows 39 year David’s search for his younger brother Simon, who, at the age of 7 (ish) in 1979, disappeared, due to a perceived alien abduction. After all, his Dad did tell him that he had been…
Completely devastated by the loss of his younger brother, and best friend, David vowed to find his brother – or at the very least find out about the Aliens that took him. This quest has taken over and completely filled David’s life. It’s more than a passion, it’s an obsession. David has been meeting people – filming interviews and generally obsessing over alien abductions ever since.
David’s best (and only) friend Robert, saddened by his friend’s obsession and unwillingness to let go of the past, tries his best to...
Completely devastated by the loss of his younger brother, and best friend, David vowed to find his brother – or at the very least find out about the Aliens that took him. This quest has taken over and completely filled David’s life. It’s more than a passion, it’s an obsession. David has been meeting people – filming interviews and generally obsessing over alien abductions ever since.
David’s best (and only) friend Robert, saddened by his friend’s obsession and unwillingness to let go of the past, tries his best to...
- 10/13/2014
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Stars: Martin Gooch, Noeleen Comiskey, Sophie Aldred, Julian Bastida, Simon Birks, Jen Brown, Brooke Burfitt, Lucy Clements, Carol Cleveland, Emma Cornell, Joe Dutch | Written by Martin Gooch, Simon Birks | Directed by Martin Gooch
David Jones (Martin Gooch) is a man with a mission; to find his brother, Simon, who was abducted by aliens nearly 30 years ago. Fed tips about UFOs by an American ‘ufologist’ AlienFromArcturas in exchange for cash, David travels in search of UFOs to places like Denmark and Utah, or wherever his tips take him. Unfortunately, they tend not to lead to anything, and while his obsession alienates his friends at home, he meets and befriends psychiatrist/author Eloise Eldritch (Noeleen Comiskey) and Angela (Sophie Aldred) and soon remembers more about Simon’s disappearance than what his dad told him as a child.
I’ll be honest, the opening 5 minutes of The Search For Simon made me audibly groan.
David Jones (Martin Gooch) is a man with a mission; to find his brother, Simon, who was abducted by aliens nearly 30 years ago. Fed tips about UFOs by an American ‘ufologist’ AlienFromArcturas in exchange for cash, David travels in search of UFOs to places like Denmark and Utah, or wherever his tips take him. Unfortunately, they tend not to lead to anything, and while his obsession alienates his friends at home, he meets and befriends psychiatrist/author Eloise Eldritch (Noeleen Comiskey) and Angela (Sophie Aldred) and soon remembers more about Simon’s disappearance than what his dad told him as a child.
I’ll be honest, the opening 5 minutes of The Search For Simon made me audibly groan.
- 10/5/2014
- by Nicky Johnson
- Nerdly
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