{"id":270885,"date":"2026-04-16T15:08:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T15:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/270885\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T15:08:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T15:08:08","slug":"california-schemin-james-mcavoys-assured-directing-debut-is-a-blast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/270885\/","title":{"rendered":"California Schemin\u2019: James McAvoy\u2019s \u2018assured\u2019 directing debut is a \u2018blast\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

For his \u201cassured directing debut\u201d, the actor James McAvoy has chosen the true story of two rappers from Dundee, who pulled off one of the most audacious hoaxes in recent music history, said Brian Viner in the Daily Mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the early 2000s, old friends Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd were working in sales while trying to break into the music business. They were convinced they had the chops to make it, but when they pitched their work to record companies in London, they were not taken seriously, apparently because of their accents. One executive dismissed them as \u201cthe rapping Proclaimers\u201d.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So in a \u201cmasterstroke\u201d, they broadened their accents, and \u2013 calling themselves Silibil N\u2019 Brains \u2013 posed as Americans who\u2019d arrived in London \u201cstraight outta California\u201d, which made all the difference. It\u2019s a cracking story, told with terrific verve, but the genius lies in the casting: Samuel Bottomley and S\u00e9amus McLean Ross are very funny and \u201ctremendously likeable\u201d as the pals at the heart of the tale.<\/p>\n

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There is a \u201cgiddy thrill\u201d to the start of the con, said Richard Lawson in The Guardian<\/a>. The pair prove to be great at what they do, and are soon on a \u201crunaway train\u201d to success. But this distracts them from their original mission, which was to expose the prejudices of the industry elite, and the lie they are living under puts a massive strain on their friendship. The plotting is \u201cawfully predictable\u201d, and the direction could be tighter in places, but it\u2019s a \u201ckindhearted film\u201d, about integrity, art for art\u2019s sake and staying true to your roots. \u201cThe ending doesn\u2019t pack the emotional punch it could\u201d, said Anna Smith in Rolling Stone<\/a>; and the James Corden cameo was a mistake. \u201cBut mostly, this is a blast\u201d, with an infectious energy and a spirit that recalls everything from \u201cKneecap<\/a>\u201d to \u201cThe Full Monty\u201d.<\/p>\n

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