Critics slam 'rotten' Potato Men

A new British comedy is being hailed as the "worst film ever" by critics and has bombed at the box office.

Sex Lives Of The Potato Men, starring Johnny Vegas and Mackenzie Crook, aka Gareth from The Office, has been described as "smut for morons", "the most nauseous film ever made", and, at 83 minutes, "roughly 90 minutes too long".

The movie was made using £800,000 of lottery cash.

Hit sitcom The Office picked up two awards at this year's Golden Globe awards in the US, and Crook featured in last year's box office hit Pirates of the Caribbean.

Sex Lives of the Potato Men opened on Friday and follows the sexual antics of four men who deliver potatoes across the Midlands.

Nigel Andrews in the Financial Times called it "smut for morons, part-funded by your and my lottery money".

Johnny Vaughan wrote in The Sun: "The mind boggles as to how this movie actually got made."

Will Self in the Evening Standard said it was "mirthless, worthless, toothless, useless".

However, the Film Council, which part-funded the flick, defended it, claiming that it was aimed at a young male audience "which may not be critic-led".

A spokesman said: "Public money is for everyone, and that includes people who want to get drunk and see a filthy movie as much as the audience that wants to watch a Japanese movie every week."

Last week the government closed a tax loophole which has placed around 40 films, including The Libertine, starring Johnny Depp, and Tulip Fever, starring Jude Law, in jeopardy.

Titles related to this article

Related/similar articles

• Generation Game remake shelved (5 July 2004)