Book review: The Movie Doctors

AS co-presenters of the Sony award-winning Film Review programme on BBC Radio 5 Live, Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode’s light-hearted bickering has endeared them to a weekly audience of more than 500,000 cinephiles anxious for news of the latest releases and insights from stars.

This tie-in book takes the premise of the show and extends it promising tongue-in-cheek cinematic cures for readers’ everyday woes.

Stressed out? Watch The Big Lebowski. Tinnitus? Go and see Interstellar. (We kid you not.)

It’s a list-maker’s dream, though it’s more for idle browsing than serious reference (we refer you to the chapter ‘10 Reasons Why Local Hero Will Cure All Your Ills’).

Fans of the radio show will miss its fractious energy — clearly this was a bit of a concern, hence lots of scripted dialogue between the two ‘doctors’ .

But they might be appeased by the lavish illustrations and bountiful in-jokes.

The Movie Doctors

Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode

Canongate Books, €27.99; ebook, €21.64