A Load of Old Bullochs!

Here we are, Christmas week itself at last.  I suppose that this week I should make all my posts fluffy and festive, but I'm not sure that would match the general mood right now, what with Christmas 'being cancelled' due to Covid.  (See, I've been telling you that this would be the case ever since the idiot Johnson started telling us that it would 'all be over by Christmas').   But let us talk of other things.  Jeremy Bulloch died recently and, of course, much of the commentary on his passing focused on the role for which he is best known: Boba Fett in the Star Wars films.  Which is testimony to the obsessiveness of Star Wars fans, as it was a role in which we neither saw his face nor heard his voice.  Personally, I prefer to remember him for his more visible roles, not least of which included appearances in three of Roger Moore's Bond movies.  In Spy Who Loved Me, he was a crewman on the British submarine HMS Ranger, which is swallowed by Stromberg's giant tanker just after the opening titles had rolled.  IN For Your Eyes Only, he made his first appearance as Q's assistant, Smithers, assisting in the testing of some new equipment during the usual visual gag sequence in Q's lab.  He reprised the role in Octopussy, where the Secret Service was obviously feeling the effects of Thatcher's public spending cuts, as not only was assisting Q in his Indian lab, but also doing some field work in London, tailing the villain.  

But most of all, I'd like to remember Bulloch for his contribution to the British sex comedy, in the form of his leading role in Can You Keep it Up For a Week? (1974).  OK, so it wasn't exactly a classic of the genre and he was no Robin Askwith (but who is?), but it has a pretty good cast, which includes sue Longworth, Valerie Leon and Richard O'Sullivan and it is a pretty painless  ninety two minutes of smutty entertainment.  The tale of a blundering idiot trying to keep a job, any job, for a week in order to avoid his girlfriend from leaving him - resulting in all the usual British sex comedy naked shenanigans you'd expect from the genre - the film marks the only directorial credit for Jim Atkinson, an editor and sound editor with an impressive CV, (Get Carter, Deliverance, Zardoz, for instance).  It was also one of a trio of sex films co-produced by wrestling commentator Kent 'Have a Good Week 'til Next Week' Walton under various pseudonyms.  As I said, it isn't a great film, but it is one of the few leading roles Bulloch got in his career and, unlike his Star Wars appearances, you do get to see a lot of him.  Although lacking Robin Askwith's charisma, Bulloch gives his role a decent stab, even if he does come over as more of a dim witted blunderer than the sort of naive klutz these sorts of films really require for a lead.  Still, it is pretty decently made, with good production values.  Can You Keep it Up For a Week? is certainly far from being the worst British sex comedy ever made and at least allow Bulloch to give a performance (so to speak), unlike Star Wars, which just required him to stand around wearing armour.

It's no good, I know that, in the spirit of the season, I'm trying to avoid politics, but I just have to say, are you really surprised by the utter shambles of the past few days?  I mean, did anyone honestly think that a government led by Boris Johnson would be any different?  His utter incompetence and inability to get to grips with the reality of political decision making has been on open display for years.  So, is anyone really surprised by the complete lack of leadership we have been left with in the face of two crises, the pandemic and the prospect of a No Deal Brexit?  Sadly, I have a feeling that things are going to get much worse before they get any better.