Themes: Nothing Goes Right, Unlikely Criminals, Hide the Dead Body
Main Cast: Glen Mulhern, Brendan Mackey, Simon Godley, Steven Berkoff, Raymond Griffiths
Release Year: 2003
Country: UK
Run Time: 83 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
In this gangster farce from first-time writer/director Ky Mo Lab, a pair of Irish pals become embroiled in a murder mystery upon their move to London. When Kenny (Glen Mulhern) arrives in the big city, he's dismayed to find his mate, Byron (Brendan Mackey), on the dole and boozing it up. But he's even more horrified to learn how Byron supplements his dole checks: by working as a rent boy in a gay pub. Despite his trepidation, Kenny soon embarks on a parallel career. But when a rich couple named The Queen (Michael Praed) and Golders Green (Simon Godley) turn up dead, Kenny and Byron think they've found the solution to their financial woes. Rumor has it that Golders Green kept a wad of cash squirreled away in his mattress. Unfortunately, several other colorful low-lives have their eyes on the prize, from The Desperate Dwarf (Raymond Griffiths) to The Iron Lady (Karen Sharman). As the queer corpses continue to pile up, Kenny and Byron wonder whether they'll ever locate the loot -- and whether their newfound occupation has deeper implications. Screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival, Nine Dead Gay Guys marked the feature debut for both Mulhern and Mackey. The character Golders Green is named after the neighborhood where he lives, a historically Jewish area of London. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Fish - Old Nick; Karen Sharman - Iron Lady; Michael Praed; Leon Herbert - Nev; Vas Blackwood; Carol Decker - Fish's Wife; Abadala Keserwani - Dick Cheese Deepak; Steven Woodhouse - Father Ted
Credit
Gareth Underwood - Art Director, Ky Mo Lab - Director, Chris Blunden - Editor, Jonathan Braman - Editor, Robert Bevan - Executive Producer, Charlie Savill - Executive Producer, Amanda Coombes - Executive Producer, Amit Barooah - Executive Producer, Peter Errington - Executive Producer, Andrew Melmore - Executive Producer, Steve Parsons - Composer (Music Score), Resident Filters - Composer (Music Score), Nik Callan - Production Designer, Damien Elliott - Cinematographer, Amit Barooah - Producer, Lamia Nayeb - Producer, Ky Mo Lab - Screenwriter
This is the story of two lads from Belfast as they stumble their way through the Londongay underworld in search of "gainful employment," that is, the offering of sexual favors to older gay men in order to subsidize their respective giros. However, when one of the lads accidentally shags a punter to death, they are forced to look for 'work' elsewhere. It is then that they discover the myth of 'The Bread in the Bed' - a huge bed full of money. Nine dead gay guys are the result of the ensuing caper as the lads begin the search for the bed.
The film was first shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002.[1] Critical reception of 9 Dead Gay Guys was very negative, earning a Rotten Tomatoes score of 18 out of 100, based upon 22 aggregate reviews. Of the web site's top critics, none gave positive reviews; Dave Kehr wrote for the New York Times that "the film strains mightily to be flashy and hip but finishes more in the realm of the merely distasteful," while Terry Lawson of the Detroit Free Press simply stated, "ridiculous and offensive."[2]
Due to the film's limited release of only two theaters, the film made only $26,377. In the film's initial theater, the film grossed $3,462 in the opening week.[3]
