Critic Reviews

Mindhorn is a ridiculous comic creation taken to extraordinary, laugh-a-minute heights.

There are such great gags, and it is acted with such fanatical gusto by Barratt that it’s impossible not to root for this unlikeliest of heroes.

Thorncroft is a gem of comedy creation – played to perfection by Barratt.

A rib-tickling homage to the gumshoe shows of yesteryear, with an endearingly daffy mindset.

The film is very, very funny, consistently.

Co-writers Julian Barratt and Simon Farnaby fly the flag for a rare original idea with the goofy, genial, fitfully inspired Mindhorn.

It’s clear, in any case, that Mindhorn is a labor of love for the cast and crew, and while it’s not as memorable as the comedies it recalls, its attention to more serious underlying themes is commendable.

Though stuck with stretches of guff and looking all too convincingly like video-era rubbish TV, Mindhorn delivers regular proper laughs and eventually wrings just enough drops of pathos to scrape by.

For fans of Barratt, Boosh and mock-heroic Britcoms, it’ll mostly hit the spot.