Bottom >>>> Bottoms

Guest House Paradiso (Adrian Edmondson, 1999)

To the uninitiated, Adrian Edmondson and the late Rik Mayall were two of British alternative comedy's shining stars from the eighties and nineties. Along with their comedic talents exhibited in the classic sitcom The Young Ones (1982), they were core members of the collective known as The Comic Strip. The pair really shone as a couple of crude and juvenile lowlife flatmates in the sitcom Bottom (1991-1995). 

Guest House Paradiso (1999) features Bottom's comedic duo; albeit with minor changes to their surnames: Rik Mayall's Richard "Richie" Richard is renamed to Richard "Richie" Twat, while Adrian Edmondson's Edward "Eddie" Elizabeth Hitler becomes Edward "Eddie" Elizabeth Ndingombaba. The changes are never explained. However, other than this change, both characters' are indistinguishable from their TV counterparts. Thus, the spirit of Bottom is more than evident during the very opening scenes. Guest House Paradiso would be Mayall's second feature film role after his transatlantic outing in Drop Dead Fred (1991) - embarrassingly not seen it. Edmondson makes his film debut in this film and not make an appearance again until his bit part in the franchise killer Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017).

Guest House Paradiso is loud, crude and unapologetically juvenile. Witnessing Eddie and Richie administering Looney Toons level of violence to one another is like watching Laurel and Hardy ramped up to eleven. The film isn't only reliant on its cartoonish violence, it also possesses some truly idiotic dialogue, like the Richie having to repeat 'it's pronounced "Thwaite"' whenever trying to correct anyone from saying his surname as Twat. Much like Hyacinth Bucket has to endure. The styles of humour don't just end there, as the film as the film doesn't shy from Mayall acting like a sexually depraved individual, along with gross out vomit comedy in the film's final act. Very much in the spirit of Peter Jackson's early films.

Simply put, the premise of the film is essentially Fawlty Towers (1975) with Eddie and Richie running the worst hotel in Great Britain. It's built on top of cliff and adjacent to the phallic looking nuclear power plant. It's a miracle the pair even manage to retain any staff, like their Romanian chef Lardy Barsto (Steve O'Donnell), let alone any paying guests due to their obnoxious behaviour. A subplot involving famous, Italian actress Gina Carbonara (Hélène Mahieu) jilting her playboy, racing driver fiancee, Gino Bolognese (a fish out of water Vincent Cassel) on the day of their wedding and hiding out in the grotty establishment adds a welcome layer to the film. The G.O.A.T comedy Carry On Screaming's Fenella Fielding plays the senile guest Mrs. Foxfur, while Simon Pegg makes his film debut as the timid, but closeted pervert, Mr. Nice. An unforgettably cringeworthy scene involves him being hoisted with a fishing rod whilst asleep via his nipple ring. Two other cast members from Shaun of the Dead (2004), Bill Nighy and Kate Ashfield, play an adulterous couple whose romantic getaway is ruined at the hotel.

Written by both Edmondson and Mayall, the idea came to them whilst in various hotels during Bottom's live tour. The pair had written three and half-hours worth of comedy material for their first treatment. A revision of it had shaved it down to two and half hours, which was still too lengthy. Mayall had just recovered from a coma due to a quad bike accident in 1998. During this period, he had urged Edmondson to go it alone with a further rewrite to a more acceptable run time during his recuperation. With a final script completed, the producers of the film got Edmondson to direct the film. The result is an unapologetic gross out comedy and a surprisingly stylish one, too.

Worth praising Guest House Paradiso's art direction as its sixties pastiche give it a vintage Ealing Studios vibe. The production sets look suitably old and grotty. The hotel itself, is very much a major highlight as it's reminiscent of Man and Woman's dwelling in Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs (1991). The secret passageways within the walls and various crawl spaces of the hotel, are what spark this comparison. As a matter of fact, Guest House Paradiso, could have very easily been a horror film given all the various elements mentioned.

Guest House Paradiso was released in 1999 with little fanfare. It was largely panned by the critics; Poncey Pete over at The Guardian likened it to "a Jim Davidson 'adult pantomine'". Fast forward several decades, and he's positively gleaming over the played out goofiness of last year's nauseatingly overblown Bottoms (2023). The comedy might not be a classic, but it absolutely stomps Emma Seligman's boring writing that qualifies as zoomer humour. Similarly, an Empire critic no one knows was turned off by the film for being too puerile, despite being aware of its creators' comedic style and the source material. Worst of all, are the legions of wannabe Roger Eberts on Letterboxd offended over its irreverent humour. When mankind turns its nose at comedy at its most honest and base level, then the human race is definitely doomed.

Surprised by Guest House Paradiso receiving the boutique blu-ray treatment when it's usually focused on the serious cinephile and genre ends of the spectrum, but it makes absolute sense after seeing it. The slapstick comedy and gross out scenes are written and performed by absolute legends of the British comedy industry, not to mention it being far more deserving of some high definition love and fancy packaging than the average Troma film and long forgotten straight-to-video comedy for trash movie aficionados with money to burn. Like Kolobos and Freeway II: Confessions of a Trick Baby, Guest House Paradiso is another film from 1999 being discovered decades later that's turned out to be an unexpected gem. 

Rick Mayall passed away from a heart attack in 2014. Tragic how he was far more talented and deserving of success across the pond compared to insufferable comedians Ricky Gervais and Russell Brand. 

R.I.P Rick Mayall.