Dir: Michael Winterbottom. UK. 2005. 91mins.

Michael Winterbottom's deliriously funny film-about-a-filmof 18th century novel Tristram Shandy is the prolific director's mostenjoyable feature to date. Based around the gigantic comic talents of SteveCoogan, A Cock And Bull Story is both Winterbottom's affectionate homageto film-making itself and a snapshot of UK talent and humour in 2005.

While A Cock And Bull Story is too highbrow to scoremainstream UK success, its laugh-out-loud comic moments will make it a must-seefor young, upscale audiences. Similarly, the growing appetite for off-centre UKTV comedy like The Office, Little Britain and Extras willestablish a cult foothold for the film in the US, where it will be released byPicturehouse. Upscale audiences around the world will appreciate Winterbottom'ssmart, self-mocking look at movie people.

The film starts to tell the tale of Laurence Sterne's TheLife And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman which experimented with thenarrative and conventions of the novel, and then adopts Shandy-esquetechniques to portray the cast and crew making a film of it in the Englishcountryside.

Although the movie opens with the stars of thefilm-within-the-film, Coogan and Rob Brydon playing "Steve Coogan" and "Rob Brydon",sitting in make-up chairs, it quickly skips to the Shandy story.

Coogan is both Tristram recounting his traumatic birth, andalso playing his father Walter Shandy. Brydon plays his uncle Toby, whosuffered an embarrassing groin injury at the Siege of Namur. Shirley Hendersonis the maid Susannah, Keeley Hawes is Elizabeth Shandy, the screaming mother inlabour, and Dylan Moran the inept and procrastinating Dr Slop.

Twenty minutes or so into the complex back-and-forthnarrative, Winterbottom pulls the camera away and starts his focus on theproblems and personalities in the production itself.

Coogan is vain and insecure, insisting that he stands tallerthan Brydon and that the costume department raise his heels to achieve theeffect. Even though his girlfriend Jenny (Macdonald) and their new-born babyhave arrived to visit him, he is constantly hitting on production assistantJennie (Harris) whose pretentious spoutings about Bresson and Fassbinder aremet with bemusement by the crew.

A tabloid newspaper reporter (Kieran O'Brien) has alsoarrived to interview Coogan, with threats that he will expose some of hissexual shenanigans with a prostitute.

Meanwhile at the country hotel where they are staying, thebeleaguered director (Northam) and producer (Fleet) have run out of money andare trying to persuade the financier (Greg Wise) to shell out some more cashfor the battle scene. He agrees only when X-Files star Gillian Andersonsigns on to come on board as Widow Wadman and lend some star power to the project.

Industry insiders will howl at the surreal scene in whichAnderson's LA agent agrees happily for her client to be in the film. It wouldnever be so easy. Indeed, absurdist elements - shades of 8 1/2 and DayFor Night - creep in towards the end of the film, suggesting thatscreenwriter Hardy and Winterbottom didn't know how to end it.

The screenwriter (Hart) rewrites Tristram Shandyovernight, reinserting Widow Wadman into the project - she had been omittedfrom the original adaptation - while Coogan wanders around a night-timedreamscape of staged battles and fireworks, realising how much he loves Jenny.By the end, the implication is that the film within a film we've been watchingwas all staged itself.

The whole doesn't amount to much more than comic insightinto the on-the-fly nature of film-making rather than a complete narrative initself. But it's a highly amusing ride. Nobody comes off unscathed andeverybody involved is somehow compromised.

Winterbottom overtly tips his cap to Fellini and Bergman,using extracts from Nino Rota's scores of 8 1/2, La Dolce Vitaand Amarcord and Erik Nordgren's score from Smiles Of A Summer Nightrespectively as well as passages of Michael Nyman's Draughtsman's Contractscore.

Coogan is on top form, playing the character of "SteveCoogan" as a desperately self-involved buffoon - an audacious self-parodyconsidering reference is made to real career highlights like his famous comiccharacter Alan Partridge and film role in Around The World In 80 Days.

Production companies
Revolution Films
BBC Films
Scion Films

UK distribution
Redbus

US distribution
Picturehouse

International sales
The Works

Executive producers
Kate Ogborn
Julia Blackman
Jeff Abberley
David M Thompson
Tracey Schoffield
Henry Normal

Producer
Andrew Eaton

Screenplay
Martin Hardy

Cinematography
Marcel Zyskind

Production design
John Paul Kelly

Editor
Peter Christelis

Music
Various including Michael Nyman, Nino Rota, Schumann, Handel, Bach

Main cast
Steve Coogan
Rob Brydon
Naomie Harris
Kelly Macdonald
Jeremy Northam
James Fleet
Ian Hart
Shirley Henderson
Gillian Anderson