Bad script ruins former ’Ender flick

Man Dancin’ stars ex-EastEnders badboy Alex Ferns as Jimmy Kerrigan, a Glasgow con determined to put his gun-running past behind him.

After 10 years in jail he’s still a bit of a hard nut, but he wants to give all that up and make a fresh start.

He’s found God, and even signs up for a starring role with the local church drama group. But no matter how hard he tries his past keeps coming back to haunt him.

As someone who hates EastEnders I didn’t think it was possible to see Ferns in anything as dreary and depressing as the Albert Square-based soap. Apparently I was wrong.

Glasgow is depicted as a rain-soaked cesspit of crime and corruption. Like most things in this film the bad streets stuff is completely overdone.

We get it, Glasgow = bad.

Similarly we get the fact that Ferns is on the road to redemption long before the good Samaritan helping his brother and the overplayed holy Joe scenes.

The director must have been reading Films For Dummies. Man Dancin’ has a certain rawness that makes it interesting at times, and there are some creditable performances from some of the main characters, but the scriptwriters steal the show for all the wrong reasons.

Drama, 18 *