Clubbed to deaf

It certainly has all gone Pete Tong, as popular Ibiza DJ Frankie Wilde (Paul Kaye) overdoses on cocaine, alcohol, women and loud music until he's a deaf wreck, incapable of performing or even living a perfunctorily normal life.

From the first sequence, in which Frankie describes himself as the Imelda Marcos of the flip-flop world, it is clear that director Michael Dowse, who made the rock spoof FUBAR, is after a certain amount of ironic comedy as he describes the truly awful Nineties clubbing scene on the island.

But, then, halfway through, he and Kaye get serious as the DJ's deafness takes hold. Kaye delivers a remarkably believable performance as the movie switches into a story about disability and an attempt to triumph over it.

Frankie's panic is palpable when he realises he can no longer hear the music, even through his amplifying earphones, and the sequence when a doctor tells him the harsh truth is genuinely frightening. But Frankie won't give up and resorts to watching a screen on which the beat is mapped out for him. Nothing is easy any more, however, and no one cares.

Despite the credible performance, the second half isn't as effective as the first, and it concludes unconvincingly. But, on the way, Dowse paints the scene with some truthful-looking flurries and, if the film really was largely improvised, it's a fairly sharp effort all round.

Particularly good are the pronouncements of those who worked with this talented DJ: as self-serving a bunch of coke-blasted moneygrubbers as you are ever likely to see on film.

It's All Gone Pete Tong
Cert: cert15