John Claverdeek is friendly, jovial, constantly cheerful and one who sees the good side of everything. His neighbour despairs at Claverdeek's constant happiness and sets out doing little things to try and upset him - ordering goods falsely for him, keeping him awake and killing his birds. When all these fail, Roland decides on more desperate measures.
We all know people who are generally very happy people and never seem to gte down about anything - meeting you with a jovial `ello mate' no matter what is happening in the world: and at times it all becomes a bit much. This film here sees Roland driven to despair by his cheerful neighbour and longs to see him at least a little bit miserable, just like he is. This starts out with minor pranks but get increasingly desperate. The idea is not that funny in itself - it is actually a bit sad, but it is the delivery that makes it funny.
The delivery is a mix of to-camera discussion from Roland and clever direction and it works very well, making it almost a presentation: I'm doing a rubbish job of describing it, but coming at the film from Roland's point of view helps the humour of it a great deal. The cast do well with their parts - Vine is very good, creepy and funny throughout. Archer plays well but it is a shame that he can't help but make Claverdeek a likeable guy, making the aim of Roland's quest a bit sad.
Overall, a dark but very funny film thanks to clever direction and delivery.
