Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee Review

Shane Meadows' New Film Stars Paddy Considine as Music Mogul Le Donk

Oct 16, 2009

Shane Meadows' 5 Day Feature film sees rapper Scor-zay-zee and manager Le Donk take the music industry by storm. It's a comedy classic. Read a review below.

Summer 2008 - thousands of expectant fans are packed into Old Trafford cricket ground to see the Arctic Monkeys in concert. UK rapper Scor-zay-zee - clad in baseball cap, basketball shirt and shades - is led to the stage by his mentor, Le Donk, to rapturous applause from the crowd. It looks like any musician’s dream, the pinnacle of success.

Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee - ‘Making Music History’

Re-wind 4 days though and we’re outside a modest terraced house in Nottingham. A threadbare camera crew are knocking at the door of self-professed music svengali Le Donk. He’s the subject of director Shane Meadows' new documentary - or should that be mockumentary – Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee.

Made in just five days as part of Meadows and Warp Films’ Five Day Features initiative to ignite the imaginations of a new generation of up and coming filmmakers, it’s a fly on the wall view of the life and times of Donk (played by Paddy Considine). He's a man who claims to be a world-weary music veteran sitting on the latest British hip-hop sensation, Scor-zay-zee.

Le Donk is recently separated from his girlfriend Olivia (Olivia Coleman), who’s now expecting their child while living - much to Donk’s behest - with new boyfriend Richard. Donk’s pretty much down on his luck, reduced to living with his layabout lodger (Seamus O’Neill) and operating his career out of a camper van. But music phenomenon Scor-zay-zee is Donk’s window into the big time.

The two are heading to Manchester in the hope of riding The Arctic Monkeys’ wave of success and getting ‘Scorz’ - as he’s known to Donk - a slot at their Manchester gig. However, painfully reluctant to admit his own lack of any ability, Le Donk believes the two are destined for stardom, and with Shane Meadows and sound-man Dean Roger in tow filming their every move, much mishap and hilarity ensue as it becomes clear that the road to the top is not always paved with gold.

Shane Meadows and Paddy Considine have produced yet another comedy gem in Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee. Having originally devised Considine’s incarnation during their teenage experiences of being in a band together, the character is a well honed satire on everything that’s tragic about the music industry.

A deluded dreamer, Le Donk’s maladjusted persona is portrayed brilliantly by Paddy Considine, who provides the comedic plinth on which the rest of the film rests. Despite venturing into more serious roles since he and Meadows collaborated on a series of comic short films in the 90’s - culminating in his disturbingly funny performance in A Room For Romeo Brass – Considine demonstrates he is still a natural comedy performer.

Much of Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee is improvised and the film is brimming with the deadpan wit that has coursed through Meadows’ previous films. There’s a spontaneous, natural humour to the film that can often only grow from unscripted material.

As the fall guy, Le Donk is blissfully unaware of his own unintentional humour, passing on his words of musical wisdom to Meadows and crew like some sort of Simon Cowell in a beanie hat. It’s painfully funny to watch in the same way David Brent was such a hilarious yet cringe-worthy creation in The Office. It really is car crash material at times.

Calm Down Deirdre Barlow

Although essentially just a roadie, Donk’s determination to be the centre of attention manifests in a desperate attempt to hang on to the coat tails of Scor-zay-zee’s talent, displaying all the tantrums of an A-List celebrity, yet eager to force home the idea that Scorz – his ‘Honey Monster with a lobotomy’ – is the puppeteered showpiece.

Quite how Considine manages to keep a straight face through it all is anyone’s guess; Le Donk’s lyrical contribution to the rap Scor-zay-zee performs at the Arctic Monkeys gig is pure comedy genius, sending the rest of the cast into stitches. While his general ignorance to everything in the music industry (leaving Scorz with a battery-less keyboard to practice his set, while going to schmooze with the ‘Arctical’ Monkeys) would give the Spinal Tap movies a satirical run for their money.

It seems quite remarkable that a film this well honed could be produced in just 5 days. At only 71 minutes in duration Le Donk and Scor-zey-zee is brief, yet never gives the impression of being a film rushed by its schedule. Although it would seem that the low budget approach lends itself naturally to this guerrilla documentary style, production values are not forgotten and the film comes across incredibly well prepared. Captured using two cameras cleverly positioned to offer maximum coverage to each improvised scene, Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee has the same car-crash feel that accompanies many reality shows on TV today. If you didn’t know this was a set-up you’d be forgiven for thinking Donk was a real documentary.

Although very much a one man show, with Considine’s comic creation dominating almost every scene, Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee could definitely put many big budget comedies with their year-long production schedules and half baked ideas to shame. This five day mini-production is certainly punching way above its comedy weight.

Leaving the cinema you’re almost inspired to pick up a camera and make your own film, so in that respect, Five Day Features has hit its mark. The only problem being, Meadows and Considine probably make it look a lot easier than it actually is.

Verdict: 4/5

The copyright of the article Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee Review in Comic Films is owned by Gareth Harding. Permission to republish Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.