How to Stop Being a Loser (2011)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Just for once, every so often, it's nice to walk away from razzle dazzle high-tech wizardry and enjoy a straightforward, hugely entertaining film that can stand up on its own merits, without a gargantuan budget, and without several studios working day and night on CG or other effects. If, like me, you find British comedies films normally fit neatly into one of two camps..very good or genuinely terrible, you'll be pleasantly surprised by this little gem. The acting is superb throughout, the storyline is plausible, and the movie rolls along at a steady pace without seeming bloated or skimping on details. The comedy is very much in the detail here, not always in the spoken word or action - which is refreshing to see, and typically British. I'd imagine that this film would appeal to those of us that feel slightly disenchanted with increasingly formulaic Hollywood churn-outs, and those that like a feel-good flick, but can't seem to find one under the groaning mountain of horror films. I realize its 'uncool' to admit to enjoying films of this nature these days. I fully understand that I'd earn far more cool-points by enthusing over the latest cheap zero-storyline hack-and-slash part 8 movie, but I've seen enough of these to honestly say I never want to see another ever again. These days, when life seems increasingly short of laughs, and even escapism isn't catered for, films like this are a welcome relief and a breath of fresh air. Avoid those who'll over-analyse, over-criticize, and otherwise dissect this slice of romantic comedy, and just buy/ rent it. I think you'll be glad you did!

Just picked this up on DVD and was really pleasantly surprised by how imaginative and funny it was. I really liked all the characters and their relationships with each other and the way human story really shone through the humour. I especially loved how the large cast really melded well together and bounced off each other. This was aided by some hilarious cameos that I did not expect but really liked. As a lover of comedies in a similar vein i really thinks it stands up with films like Hitch and The Hangover. All in all i really enjoyed the film and felt it was one of my favourite comedies of 2011. i think it is a great example of tight streamlined filmmaking and i look forward to seeing more of the cast in the future. 9/10

Pretty rubbish. That's about the easiest way i can sum this up. James (a loser) hires Ampersand (a pick up artist) to help him snare the girl of his dreams, who then turns out to be selfish and mean. With that, he realises that his best friend (a hot girl) was there for him all along and liked him just the way he was. Not the most original story. Comparisons with the plot of Hitch and Crazy Stupid Love are obvious. But to put this film in the same category as those two would be a grave mistake indeed. I love Independent British films. I love finding hidden gems, or spotting new talent in smaller films, and then watching their careers grow. However, this is not a hidden gem. There are no new talents to be discovered here. The faces we recognise (Richard E. Grant, Martin Compston, Neil Maskell, Colin Salmon, Sheridan Smith, Jill Halfpenny, Craig Conway) can all chalk this one down to 'keeping busy.' They will all undoubtedly continue onwards in their careers and see this as a mere blip. Not sure anyone who was trying to make a name for themselves with this one will be as lucky. Gemma Atkinson, who would have seen this as a chance to put the lad mags behind her and get some credibility comes up short. Here she plays the object of the central character James' desires, but as said, she is revealed to be shallow and selfish. Atkinson doesn't really show any range or charisma, and on the evidence of this wont be working in anything of a higher quality anytime soon. Simon Phillips who plays the loser in the title, James, is quite honestly appalling. He seems to spend most of the film playing a severe caricature of what I assume he thinks is a geek. Every Cliché is present and accounted for. Fat, check, glasses, check etc, etc. He seems to have only two emotions, and both of them appear to involve an OTT gurning facial expression. Although Im sure everyone can relate to the difficulty of finding a partner - the real big problem was that I just didn't like James. Maybe it's because of the way he was written, but I think Phillips performance took me out of what was already a bad film and left me with very little to enjoy from watching it. He over played every scene. The Director, Dominic Burns must be commended for managing to attract the solid supporting cast mentioned earlier, but then immediately berated for wasting their talents with this guff. Any subtlety to be found in the jokes was wringed out of it and replaced with BIG bravado and hammy,contrived delivery. He cant seem to make up his mind as to what this film is? Is it a romantic comedy. (No. It's not romantic. Or very funny.) Is it a balls out gross sex comedy. (No. It's crass, but again, not funny.) Is it an office/Curb awkward embarrassing type chuckle? (No. It's embarrassing, but only because it's not funny.) I feel like I am being harsh, but it's just that I cant think of many positives in this film. It's utterly charmless and quite boring.

So Loser vs Twilight! So the film makers are nothing if not brave. I'm guessing the general audience who go and see romantic comedies are teenage girls, no? So why release against Twilight whose main audience is... Teenage girls, right? It's a shame because I loved this film, I thought it was so sweet and yes it had some laugh out loud moments but the love story was great and as embarrassing as it is to admit, I didn't see the end coming. I believed it was going in the direction they were taking me, that's all I'll say without risking spoilers. Martin Kemp was brilliant as the love God, he's a movie star and I'd love to see him in more movies, although his IMDb says he's now directing. A shame, too beautiful not to be on screen more. My favourite part was the outtakes at the end and that's not a back handed compliment, I really enjoyed the film but the outtakes were a riot!