Whatever it is, its performing swimmingly amongst critics.

Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story

The trailer, which I saw last week, was all over the place. Looked like the typical "story within a story" but on a lighter comic note. Looks like the first well loved cocky (I crack myself up) flick of the year, with 22 reviewers weighing in, and only one negative voice.

Anyone interested in checking this one out? This year looks like the year of good comedies.

But apprently, as I heard the man behind me comment, so was the book, The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman , by Laurence Sterne (Late 1760's).

I swear I heard Nino Rota's 8 1/2 score running through any scene that had to do with the carnival, and the direct parallel (if I'm not imagining the score) is apt. Only rather than 3 layers of narration, I'd guess Tristan Shady: A Cock and Bull Story, had about 5. It was so convoluted one stopped trying to make sense of it all, and just focussed on each moment as comedic in of itself. Parts were very funny, and the audiance laughed out loud. Other parts seemed random, or out of sinc with the general flow (all the over-the-top womb scenes, come to mind).

So, its pretty fun and entertaining if one doesn't know the book. Which includes me, and I'd give it a B/B+. If one does know the original writing, this film might border on genius (as the man behind me seemed to think it captured the spirit of the prose perfectly). If you do know the novel, by all means I'd love to hear your take on it, and its film adaptation.

Nice to see a no-holds-barred approach to a smart literary adaptation - loved the self-referential frame-bustin' comedy hall of mirrors that the maker's assembled here. Yee-haw!

5 out of 5.

(DV, given the high profile of birth in the story, how can you wish away the "over-the-top womb scenes" - they were crazy magic which sold the concept(ion)...

I just preferred the (actress) mother scnees where she endlessly screams and they do retakes, drag, etc.

Its still probably my favotire movie this year thus far, and I didn't even mind, when I think of it, the "big" womb scene, however his dream.nightmare was a bit odd, and was hitting the plastic womb too often. Its just that the rest of the movie seemed so sparse, and was just about the narrative structure and acting, and all of a sudden we have these huge sythetic contraptions that "didn't " work for me. They didn't ruin the movie for me or anything. I just felt they weren;t quite in the same faith as the rest of the work.

I'm glad you liked it Bradley.