The Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan Film and DVD Review

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I won't really be saying too much about this movie as it didn't really captivate me in any way. That's not to say it is a total dud but after reading the blurb, which read 'A cross between Football factory and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', I was intrigued and expected just a little more in the way of a British gangster movie.

There is quite a bit of violence in the movie as you would expect but it is not in any way centred on football violence. We do see the odd moment of football hooligans in their element, such as the quick flashes and cut scenes at the start of the movie.

The movie is however centred on crime in the form of credit card fraud and money laundering.

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The Premise

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Mike Jacobs (played by Nick Nevern) is down on his luck and out of work. He lives off his girlfriend who is willing to support him as long as he tries. To be fair to him he really does try to get a job but his interview technique is a little raw to say the least. He falls in with an old friend who he sees in amongst the hooligans during police segregation.

This old friend, Eddie Hill (Simon Phillips) is supervisor to a team of credit card fraudsters and he wants Mike to be a part of the team. Mike eventually gains there trust after starting out as a delivery driver and then becoming part of a four man team and being instrumental in stopping them from being caught by the police.

While on a job in Paris, Mike is caught and spends six months in a French jail. He doesn't open his mouth and his reward when he gets out is to meet one of the big bosses and be promoted to supervisor.
Mike's world is about to be turned upside down and he needs to orchestrate a plan to get away from these crooks so he doesn't end up in prison for the rest of his life.

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My Thoughts

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Let me start by saying I have read a lot of books on football violence, seen a lot of movies on it and even witnessed it first-hand throughout the eighties all across the country at football matches. Before any of you ask, no I have never taken part and think that people who do are deranged but I am fascinated by it and what makes people do it.

This movie however isn't really anything to do with football hooliganism but uses its element in a stab at promoting a mediocre movie to gain some viewers. It's not even a very good gangster movie to be honest and nowhere near in the league of 'Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' when it comes to plot and cleverness of screenplay.

You can't really blame the films makers for giving it a go and I suppose they might make back the meagre one million budget in DVD sales with the help of the false blurb.

Paul Tanter's direction on the movie is solid enough and I will give his other movies 'GBH' and 'The Hooligan Wars' a watch to see if they are an improvement on this one of not.

Nevern is Ok in the lead role and would've been much more believable had the movie been about football hooligans. I will also be interested to see how he fairs in 'GBH' and he has just finished filming 'White Collar 2' and 'The Hooligan Factory' so it seems that directors see him as a good fit for the hooligan role too.

The movie itself didn't hold enough substance for me and I only watched as I don't like to dump films without giving them a chance. As I have said before, it is easy to trash a film but people have worked hard on these movies for up to a year in some cases and I think it unfair to destroy them. However, White Collar (as it is also known -my copy is) is not a brilliant movie and didn't impress me at all. I wasn't left wanting more but rather wanting more from it.

I give it one out of five stars.

©Lee Billingham