Watch the trailer for Julian Barratt comedy Mindhorn
The Mighty Boosh star plays a washed-up actor who gets tied up in some violent goings-on on the Isle of Man
Mindhorn, a new feature film from the pens of Mighty Boosh alumni Julian Barratt and Simon Farnaby, joins the likes of Tropic Thunder, Galaxy Quest and the ¡Three Amigos! in the annals of comedies about actors whose characters are confused for real people. In this case, Barratt plays Richard Thorncroft, a washed-up thespian who was the star of a hit TV detective show years ago called Mindhorn. Set on the Isle of Man, the show’s ludicrous premise was that detective Bruce Mindhorn had a bionic lie-detecting eye, which allowed him to literally "see the truth".
Decades after the show ended, a bald, overweight Thorncroft is asked by the police to come back to the Isle of Man and resurrect the character when a deranged young man suspected of murder says he won’t cooperate until he sees detective Mindhorn.
The film had its world premiere at London Film Festival, and was also a big hit at Glasgow Film Festival when it screened there last month. As well as Barratt, Andrea Riseborough, Essie Davis, Steve Coogan and Russell Tovey also star, while Kenneth Branagh makes a brief cameo in the trailer. Read our review of the absurd and Partridge-esque comedy, and watch the first trailer in the player above. Mindhorn is released 5 May by StudioCanal; check out the poster, featuring a high-kicking Barratt, below.