One Chance certainly doesn’t deserve a second.

“Once Chance” is a Simon Cowell production. Like all Simon Cowell productions, it’s superficial, sentimental and predictable. Not content with ramming contestants’ sob stories down his dwindling viewership’s throat, hes branched out into the sob story: the movie business. Now, not only will he manipulate the public into supporting and voting for his pre-selected winner, he’ll slap together a movie showing the rags to riches story he’s just sold them on TV.

The only saving grace here is the presence of a great cast of character actors and a savvy director. Together, they make the best of the thin script and just about manage to elevate this above TV-movie-of-the-week level.

James Corden plays Paul Potts, the winner of the first series of “Britain’s Got Talent” who, in a not-at-all set up by the production team debut, shocked the judges and the viewing public by being very good at singing opera despite being a bit tubby and having bad teeth. Unfortunately, the film brings little depth or insight into Paul’s life beyond surface details and while we see him struggle with bullying, accidents and health setbacks, you never get the impression of his journey through life to become who he was. Corden’s performance is okay (his lip-synching is a bit patchy), but the Paul Potts he plays at the start of the film is pretty much the Paul Potts he plays at the end of the film. Surrounded by Julie Walters and Colm Meaney as his parents, Mackenzie Crook as his best friend and Alexandra Roach as his girlfriend/ wife, much of the film feels like a sitcom, albeit one with moments of light drama thrown in. Given the script shows many of Paul’s misfortunes are down to his own decisions and choices makes it hard to escape the feeling that rather than triumph through adversity, Paul actually led a charmed life where he was born with a fantastic talent and was then given repeated chances to exercise that talent. No sooner does he blow one chance than another falls into his lap, but I guess “Several Chances” wasn’t as catchy a title.

No, it must be “One Chance”, because Cowell wants you to buy the myth that Potts was destined for a life of misery and unrealised talent until he plucked him from obscurity and made him a star. Thus the film spends as little time as possible showing the opportunities he had, glosses over the time spent studying opera in Italy and barely mentions the many, many opera productions and tours he took part in. It ignores his time as a local councillor completely, preferring instead to concentrate on the domestic ordinariness of his life back in Wales and go for cheap comedy instead of genuine feeling.

Director David Frankel (“The Devil Wears Prada”) does a decent job but, the Venice scenes aside, is saddled with dull locations to film in and there’s very little you can do to make the inside of a modest little mobile phone shop appear cinematic. By the end, it takes the lazy route of using archive footage from the actual TV show intercut with new footage of Corden replicating Potts’ original audition. Unfortunately, all this serves to do is remind you of the TV roots of this movie and put the odious Piers Morgan on the big screen. Amanda Holden appears too, but it may have been a still photograph as her face didn’t move. Cowell’s next cinematic oeuvre is a “Pudsey The Dog” movie with David Walliams as the voice of Pudsey the dog, so perhaps “One Chance” will actually turn out to be the peak of Cowell’s movie endeavours.

Neither inspirational or uplifting, this is a workmanlike telling of the story of a nice guy who had a string of opportunities and eventually struck it lucky. Like many of Cowell’s talent show winners, it will linger in the mind for a few days then be completely forgotten.

one chance review
Score 4/10


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

logo

Related posts

Pan (2015) Review

Pan (2015) Review

Never Say Neverland Again. Unnecessary. That’s the inescapable word that plagues “Pan” throughout its hefty 111 minute running time. It saddles the impish, carefree character of J M Barrie’s timeless tale with a hackneyed chosen one narrative so crushingly unsubtle that the characters...

Show Dogs (2018) Review

Show Dogs (2018) Review

No dogs were harmed during the making of Show Dogs but the dignity of the species as a whole takes a hell of a beating. The littlest Craggling has something of a fascination for talking dogs, as the many hours I’ve had to sit through Disney's interminable 'Buddies’ movies can attest to...

Monsters University (2013) Review

Monsters University (2013) Review

Monsters University fails its first test Since 1995’s “Toy Story”, Pixar have been synonymous with animated family films of the highest quality. Not only did they set the bar, but they also kept raising it every time they brought out a film. They even showed they could manage that...

The Polar Express (2004) Review

The Polar Express (2004) Review

All aboard! Next stop: the uncanny valley. The award winning book “The Polar Express” by Chris Van Allsburg is a charming tale of a magical train which takes a boy who has begun to have doubts about Santa Claus to the North Pole where he meets the man himself and is rewarded with a...

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) Review

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) Review

The rarest prize in the cinematic wasteland: a prequel that enriches its predecessor! Blazing across the arid wasteland of franchise cinema, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga roars onto the screen, a feral escapee from the fertile imagination of George Miller. In this post-apocalyptic...

Craggus’ Trek Trek Phase II Vol 21

Craggus' Trek Trek Phase II Vol 21

It's time for Craggus' Trek Trek Phase II Vol 21 - smoke 'em if you got 'em! Craggus' Trek Trek Phase II Vol 21 continues with season seven sputtering along, only occasionally hitting the mark. Star Trek The Next Generation S7E10: Inheritance It's...

The Hate U Give (2018) Review

The Hate U Give (2018) Review

The Hate U Give is uncomfortable but essential viewing. Amandla Stenberg swaps the future dystopia of “The Darkest Minds” for the present-day real-life dystopia in “The Hate U Give”, an adaptation of the hugely successful young adult novel dealing with the shooting of an unarmed black...

Star Trek: Lower Decks S1E01 – Second Contact Review

Star Trek: Lower Decks S1E01 - Second Contact Review

While it’s animated realisation might take some getting used to, there’s a lot to like about “Second Contact”, the pilot episode for “Star Trek: Lower Decks”, the latest and quirkiest member of the “Star Trek” fleet. Taking its name – and indeed its era – from “Star Trek The Next...