Critics mash Vegas' Potato Men

Johnny Vegas’s new comedy Sex Lives of the Potato Men has failed to impress the critics.

The British film, made with more than £900,000 (€1.3m) of lottery money, also stars Mackenzie Crook.

The movie, which opens today, follows the sexual antics of four men who deliver potatoes across the Midlands.

But it has received a drubbing from the critics, and has reopened the debate over the use of lottery funds to support British films.

James Christopher of The Times has called the movie, reportedly made for £1.8m (€2.7m), “one of the two most nauseous films ever made” and “a masterclass in film-making ineptitude”.

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 described Sex Lives of the Potato Men as “mirthless, worthless, toothless, useless”.

Richard Bacon in The People wrote: “At 83 minutes, it’s also roughly 90 minutes too long.”

But a spokesman from the Film Council defended the decision to support the movie with lottery cash through its Premier Fund.

He 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.

“If we all knew what the audience wanted to watch we would be millionaires by now.”

He added: “This film is for a very specific demographic – a young male audience which may not be critic-led.

“Sex Lives is just one of many films we have invested in and some have made millions of dollars worldwide.

“The film may still work despite the fact it hasn’t been well received by critics, or it may not. We won’t know until next week.”

Last week the British government closed a loophole which critics say could devastate the UK’s film industry.

The industry wants the government to agree to keep the loophole open for movies that are already under way.

The Libertine, starring Johnny Depp, and Tulip Fever, starring Jude Law, are among 40 films which critics say are in jeopardy.

Sex Lives is written and directed by Andy Humphries and was produced for Devotion Films.