Special Correspondents is a film that looks good on paper but sadly does not quite live up to its true potential. Still that is not to say there is nothing to love here.
Directed and written by Ricky Gervais, Special Correspondents is a remake of the 2009 French film Envoyés Très Spéciaux, a comedy film about a snowballing situation that slowly gets too big to control, When radio journalist Frank Bonneville played by Eric Bana and his sound technician Ian Finch portrayed by Ricky Gervais are sent to Ecuador to cover a local war, they wind up losing their plane tickets and passports. To avoid being fired they cover the story anyway from New York and the lies they tell only settle them into deeper water.
Bana and Gervais make an…interesting combination. Bonneville is cool, walks with a swagger and is not ethical enough to think twice before sleeping with his friend’s wife. Meanwhile Finch is meek, unadventurous and dim-witted. The comedy bounces effectively between these two distinctly different characters. Still it is disappointing not to see even a shadow of the no holds barred comedy Gervais is known for presenting during his stand-up performances. The film simply does not break any cultural taboos, even when they create a fake hostage video.
The supporting cast is certainly colourful enough to be remembered but they are not without flaws. Finch’s wife Eleanor, played by Vera Farmiga comes off as a thoroughly nasty person. An individual with no morals who utilises her husband’s supposed disappearance in Ecuador to fund a singing career. It was a sub-plot that didn’t work because it simply was not enjoyable to watch and kept the attention away from Finch and Bonneville. Eleanor is simply so unbelievably cold and horrible that she seems less a character and more a caricature. Kelly Macdonald portrays Claire Maddox, a co-worker and friend at the radio station to Bonneville and Finch who has a crush on the latter. Maddox is caring and kind and ignorant of the ruse for the entire film. She is kept at arms lengths from the main plot and as a result contributes little to the story. I found it incredibly disappointing that she was not even clued in to Finch and Bonneville’s predicament somewhere along the line. Macdonald spends most of the story pining after Finch which is disappointing. Why could she not have bumped into Finch on the street at some point and called him out on the lie?
The premise of this film is great; Gervais has created a situation perfect for comedy. Unfortunately in execution I felt the movie could have been funnier. Gervais did some good things with the plot but I simply wish there had been a little bit more mayhem and misunderstanding.