A Fantastic Fear of Everything

This laboured and limp comedy stars Simon Pegg as Jack, a disillusioned children's author striving for more respectability as a serious writer. While researching Victorian serial killers, Jack is overwhelmed by his own phobias. As he prepares for a make-or-break meeting with an important executive, Jack's irrational fears, paranoia and suppressed childhood memories send him into a tailspin, first in his dishevelled home and then in a late-night launderette. Pegg, on screen for the full running time, is as likeable as ever playing the ordinary bloke confronted with extraordinary circumstances, but debuting writer/director Crispian Mills (frontman of 1990s Britpop group Kula Shaker) and co-director Chris Hopewell (a music-video specialist) deliver a stuttering, off-balance film that rarely gets above second gear. The slapstick set pieces can be seen coming from miles away, while the overall gag count is disappointingly low.