The Hooligan Factory (2014) Directed by Nick Nevern

Sometimes you are just in the mood for a laugh. Of course this movie is not a great one but it at least definitely is an enjoyable one, that provides some good laughs.

The older I get, the more and more ridicules football hooliganism starts to seem to me. A bunch of grown ups, with a wife and kids waiting for them back at home, bashing each others heads in, instead of supporting their favorite sports team in a positive way. It's often not even about the sports at all. I get that it's more of a social thing and about the comradery between men but really...hooliganism is ridicules. I'm therefor also definitely glad that there is a movie that's poking fun at this and shows how silly it all is, in a very exaggerated comedy way of course.

Nothing realistic or subtle about this comedy really. It's about as silly and nonsensical as it can get but that the same time of course is also what makes it so fun and funny to watch.

The comedy- and just the movie in general feels very random and I also really can't say that it's following much of a story. It's just following a bunch of characters around, who are acting like fools and occasionally get into a fight with a bunch of other fools. Really, as simplistic, stupid and dull as this movie may sound to you, it actually is a surprisingly good and simply funny one!

Even though you get to know very little about any of the characters, most of them still are some likable and fun ones to follow around. It definitely helps that this movie never pretends to be a good or remotely serious movie. It's obvious that the film-makers and the actors in particular were just having some fun doing this movie. It's not made to win any awards or to impress you. The movie is simply made to make you laugh and give you a good time. And yes, I definitely had a good time with this movie, though I of course really can't call it a great movie as well. It's just too simplistic and predictable as a whole for that.

The comedy is definitely predictable as well at times but it all gets executed and handled well, by both its cast and crew, which is the reason why the movie still is a funny one to watch, even when you can see a joke coming from miles away.

The movie has a very typical British tone and atmosphere to it. Not just a typical British comedy style but just a typical British movie style in general. It's maybe even more of a movie in the vein of British crime comedies, which Guy Ritchie perfected and popularized, around the start of this century.

It's also fun how the movie is being a spoof. Not just a spoof on hooliganism but also hooligan movies. Even while I haven't seen any of the movie that it's spoofing (well, except for "Goodfellas" of course!) it's still very obvious to me that it's spoofing and referencing certain characters and scenes from hooligan movies because of the way how certain scenes get set up and are shot within the movie. I'm pretty sure of it that this movie will be even more fun to watch once you indeed have seen some more of the movies that this one is constantly spoofing and referencing.

Not a great or very original movie but one to just have a good and fun time with!

6/10

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