Derek Jacobi Archives – CULTURE MIX

Review: ‘Tinsel Town’ (2025) starring Kiefer Sutherland, Derek Jacobi, Jaimi Barbakoff, Danny Dyer, Matilda Firth, Theodora Williams and Rebel Wilson

December 15, 2025

by Carla Hay

Kiefer Sutherland and Rebel Wilson in “Tinsel Town” (Photo courtesy of Brainstorm Media)

“Tinsel Town” (2025)

Directed by Chris Foggin

Culture Representation: Taking place in Stratford, England (and briefly in California), the comedy/drama film “Tinsel Town” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some black people and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A difficult and cranky American actor alienates himself from getting work in the United States, and he finds himself reluctantly starring in a musical pantomime version of “Cinderella” at a regional music theater in Stratford, England, during the Christmas holiday season.

Culture Audience: “Tinsel Town” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and corny holiday movies that with a lot of terribly written dialogue and scenarios.

Kiefer Sutherland, Matilda Firth, Rebel Wilson and Theodora Williams in “Tinsel Town” (Photo courtesy of Brainstorm Media)

It’s ironic that the cheesy comedy/drama “Tinsel Town” is about a well-known actor who’s reduced to being in a low-quality acting project (a tacky musical for regional theater) because it also explains why Kiefer Sutherland is in this embarrassing movie. One can only conclude that just like his character in “Tinsel Town,” Sutherland only signed on to this project because he needed the money and couldn’t find better work. In “Tinsel Town,” Sutherland looks like he doesn’t have to do much acting when he has to act frustrated and angry that he’s stuck in this career downgrade rut.

Directed by Chris Foggin, “Tinsel Town” was written by Frazer Flintham, Adam Brown, Piers Ashworth and Jake Brunger. The movie takes place primarily in Stratford, England, but “Tinsel Town” was actually filmed in Leeds, England. There are no surprises in this substandard film, unless you might be surprised at how bad it gets with cringeworthy dialogue and idiotic plot developments.

“Tinsel Town” begins with action movie star Bradley “Brad” Mac (played by Sutherland) on the set of his movie “Killing Time VII,” somewhere in California. Viewers are told that “Killing Time” is a series of silly action flicks that are Brad’s main claim to fame. Brad is the “hero” in all of these movies. He’s also famous for using the catch phrase “All you need is me” in this movie franchise.

While taking a break from filming a scene with a co-star named Martha (played by Jennifer Biddall), who has a “damsel in distress role,” divorced Brad asks Martha out on a date. Martha’s sarcastic response is to ask Brad if her husband and kids can come on the date too. It’s “Tinsel Town’s” way of showing that Brad didn’t care to find out first if Martha was single and available before asking her out on a date.

Shortly after he’s done filming “Killing Time VII,” Brad finds out from his unnamed agent (played by Katherine Ryan) that he doesn’t have any more jobs lined up. His agent tells Brad that no one wants to hire Brad because “you’re difficult, you’re late, you refuse to do your own stunts, you don’t remember names, and you failed your medicals.” Brad’s response is to say that he could do an acting role as Barack Obama, “with the right makeup artist.”

The agent suggests that Brad try doing a theater stage production in England. Brad has only done movies in his acting career, and he’s only taken one acting class in his life. However, his estranged daughter Emma (played by Matilda Firth), who’s about 10 or 11 years old, lives in England. Brad needs the money and thinks working in England would be a good opportunity to spend time with Emma, so he accepts the offer to do the stage production in England.

Like a fool, Brad doesn’t ask what the stage production is about. All he knows is that he think he’s going to have the starring role. When Brad travels to England, he’s rude to a fan (played by Andromeda Godfrey) on the airplane. Upon arriving at London’s Heathrow Airport, Brad is greeted by a friendly young driver named Nigel (played by Mawaan Rizwan), who tells Brad that they are going to the Savoy.

Brad thinks that Nigel means the upscale Savoy Hotel in London. Brad falls asleep in the back of the car. But when Brad wakes up, he finds out that Nigel has actually taken him to a place called the Savoy Guest House in Stratford, which is about two hours away from London. Brad has a small room at this guest house, which is most definitely not upscale.

Brad soon finds out that he was hired for the supporting role of Buttons (Cinderella’s best friend/servant) in a musical pantomime version of “Cinderella” for a small non-profit regional theater group, which performs at the Stoneford Theatre Royal in Stratford. The group’s biggest annual fundraiser is the production that it has for the Christmas holiday season. “Cinderella” is the group’s major fundraiser production for this year.

Not surprisingly, Brad is furious and wants to back out of this musical. The musical’s no-nonsense director Cassandra Collins, OBE (played by Meera Syal) reminds Brad that he can’t get out of his contract. And if he does try to get out of the contract, the legal fees would be a lot more than if he stayed and did the production.

There would be no “Tinsel Town” movie if Brad quit. He reluctantly stays. Expect a barrage of stereotypes and boring scenes showing a grumpy Brad as a “fish out of water” in not only a different nation but also doing the type of acting job that he’s never done before. The person he clashes with the most is Jill (played by Rebel Wilson), the musical’s sarcastic choreographer. Wilson, who is Australian in real life, has a very unconvincing British accent in this dreadful movie.

Other members of this “Cinderella” production are cast members Izzy (played by Savannah Lee Smith) as Cinderella; Callum (played by Lucien Laviscount) as Prince Charming; Brenda (played by Maria Friedman) as the Fairy Godmother; and drag queens Danny (played by Asim Chaudhry) and David (played by Jason Manford) as Cinderella’s stepsisters. The venue employees include production manager Russell (played by Ray Fearon); box office worker Hilda (played by Barbara Ashworth); stage door worker Albert (played by Derek Jacobi); sound engineer Jonty (played by Dominic G. Britton); lighting director Frank (played by Sean Grogan); and cleaning services staffer Jean (played by Doreen Jackson).

The movie is a little too cluttered with cast members for such a simplistic main plot. “Tinsel Town” makes all of these above-named characters pipe in with lines of dialogue that could’ve been said by less cast members. However, less cast members still wouldn’t make the dialogue any better. It would just reduce the number of annoying or useless characters in “Tinsel Town.”

At one point during rehearsals, Brad is acting like an egotistical jerk because he thinks he’s too good for this musical. As he storms out of the room, he barks this order at no one in particular, so he can leave the premises: “Call me a car!” Danny replies, “You’re a car.” This is the type of brain-dead dialogue in “Tinsel Town” that sounds like the type of stale comedy that even 8-year-old kids wouldn’t think is funny.

Brad’s daughter Emma is a sweet and sensitive child who lives with Brad’s British ex-wife Grace (played by Alice Eve) and Grace’s current (and very metrosexual) husband Spencer (played by James Lance) in London. Spencer is so metrosexual, he likes to knit and comes across more like Emma’s gay best friend than her husband. Brad and Grace split up several years ago, and she moved back to England after the breakup.

Even when they were married, Brad barely paid attention to Emma because he was too self-absorbed and caught up in his career. Now that Brad is in England, he’s trying to make up for lost time with Emma. It should come as no surprise that Emma doesn’t really trust Brad because he’s let her down many times before. Grace is also wary of Brad, but it just so happens that Grace and Spencer will be going to Paris on vacation. Guess who has to take care of Emma while Grace and Spencer are away?

And what a coincidence: Jill has some child-rearing issues with her ex-spouse too. Jill’s outgoing 13-year-old daughter Cara (played by Theodora Williams) lives with Jill, but Jill’s spiteful ex-husband Kieran (played by Danny Dyer) wants joint custody of Cara. Jill and Kieran got divorced because he’s dishonest and has stalker tendencies, as seen in the movie. In her performance as Jill, Wilson does her usual schtick of playing a character who is tough on the outside and tender on the inside.

“Tinsel Town” has very clunky and awkwardly filmed subplots that make the movie worse. One of the sublots is Izzy and Callum have a secret crush on each other but are afraid to tell each other. Most viewers won’t care and won’t be surprised by the outcome. Meanwhile, the feud between Jill and Kieran escalates into a very distracting plot development that is clumsily resolved.

Another poorly conceived subplot is Brad’s guest room has a break-in, so Albert offers Brad a place to stay in Brad’s home. It’s all just a contrivance for Brad to act like he’s the neighborhood watchdog, and for Albert to make a confession to Brad about his personal life. This confession surprises Brad.

And perhaps the worst subplot is when Brad gets into legal trouble (for reasons that are explained in the movie), which culminates in a courtroom appearance that is so stupid, you’ll be convinced that the “Tinsel Town” filmmakers hate people who love good movies. Jaimi Barbakoff has a supporting role as Brad’s American attorney Sukie Huntington III, who apparently doesn’t know that American lawyers who aren’t licensed to practice law in the United Kingdom can’t represent their clients in this type of U.K. courtroom.

All of the acting in “Tinsel Town” is average to terrible, with Sutherland looking uncomfortable the entire time. His dancing is painful or hilarious to watch, depending on your perspective. As for the “Cinderella” musical, it’s like a unintentional parody of all the worst things that people say about regional theater run by untalented amateurs. If you waited your whole life to see Sutherland and a group of actors perform Katy Perry’s “Roar” in an awful movie about a has-been, egotistical actor who’s starring in a cringeworthy “Cinderella” musical, then “Tinsel Town” is the movie for you.

Brainstorm Media released “Tinsel Town” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on November 28, 2025.

Review: ‘Juliet & Romeo,’ starring Clara Rugaard, Jamie Ward, Jason Isaacs, Dan Fogler, Rebel Wilson, Rupert Everett and Derek Jacobi

May 9, 2025

by Carla Hay

“Juliet & Romeo”

Directed by Timothy Scott Bogart

Culture Representation: Taking place in the 1301, in Verona, Italy, the musical film “Juliet & Romeo” (based on the play “Romeo & Juliet”) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some black people and Latin people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A teenage boy and a teenage girl fall in love with each other, even though their families are feuding with each other.

Culture Audience: “Juliet & Romeo” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” and the movie’s headliners, but this bland and muddled musical’s drastic change to the original story’s ending might be too much of a turnoff to many viewers.

A scene from “Juliet & Romeo.” Pictured from left to right: Sarah Lazzaro, Tayla Parx, Rupert Everett, Rebel Wilson, Clara Rugaard, Lidia Vitale, Jason Isaacs, Nicholas Podany, Max Parker and Zac Bellward. (Photo courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment)

“Juliet & Romeo” is a musical with forgettable songs, a romance with no sizzle, and an ending with a terrible revision and tone-deaf announcement about an unwanted sequel. Everyone in this misguided flop looks like they’re doing Renaissance Faire cosplay. Without question, “Juliet & Romeo” will be ranked as one of the worst “Romeo and Juliet” movie adaptations of all time. The movie is supposed to take place in Verona, Italy, in 1301, but it looks and sounds like a Hollywood throwaway musical from 2001.

Written and directed by Timothy Scott Bogart, “Juliet & Romeo” (which takes place over the course of four days) is such a mind-numbing misfire, Juliet (played by Clara Rugaard) and Romeo (played by Jamie Ward) are only in a handful of scenes together. And when Romeo and Juliet are together, they spend most of their time being coy and talking about superfical nonsense. Not once do you believe that these two characters have such a deep connection and a burning passion for each other that they would literally die for each other, which is the famous ending of the “Romeo and Juliet” play that William Shakespeare wrote in the 1590s. And brace yourselves: Bogart has said in interviews that he conceived his “Juliet & Romeo” movies to be a trilogy.

The pop/rock songs in “Juliet & Romeo” aren’t completely terrible, mainly because talented people are singing the songs. Evan Kidd Bogart (Timothy Scott Bogart’s younger brother) and Justin Gray wrote the original songs for “Juliet & Romeo.” The problem with the songs is that they don’t have any catchy and memorable hooks. The lyrics are very bland and don’t add much to the story of Romeo and Juliet. These songs could be on any D-list pop album and you wouldn’t be able to tell that these songs were written for a movie about Romeo and Juliet.

The first scene of “Juliet & Romeo” is actually the funeral of Romeo and Juliet, who are shown embracing each other in a coffin. The funeral service is conducted by Friar Lawrence (played by Derek Jacobi), a clergyman who flip-flops during the story when it comes to his approval of Romeo and Juliet’s romance. The movie then flashes back to three days earlier and shows what happens during those three days and then shows the funeral that took place on the fourth day and what happened after the funeral.

While it’s possible that some people seeing this movie have never heard of the famous ending of “Romeo and Juliet,” by putting Romeo and Juliet’s funeral in the movie’s first scene, it ensures that this spoiler information is revealed from the start. It also shows that the filmmakers don’t have enough respect for the intended impact of the original ending of “Romeo and Juliet” because not only did they reveal this information too early in the movie, but they also used it as a cheap gimmick to fabricate a very different ending. This altered ending is as cringeworthy and superficial as the rest of the movie.

A great deal of the tragedy of “Romeo and Juliet” is because these two doomed lovers died mainly because their prominent Verona families are locked in a bitter feud and would not accept the couple’s relationship. Romeo comes from the Montague family, led by his parents Lord Montague (played by Jason Isaacs) and Lady Montague (played by Lidia Vitale), who are cold and domineering. Juliet comes from the Capulet family, led by her parents Lord Capulet (played by Rupert Everett) and Lady Capulet (played by Rebel Wilson), who are gregarious and manipulative.

Romeo also has a loyal adopted brother named Mercutio (played by Nicholas Podany), who was adopted as an orphan. Also in Romeo’s family is his cousin Benvolio (played by Max Parker), who doesn’t have a personality that stands out. Juliet has a hothead cousin named Tybalt (played by Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), who is constantly picking fights with Romeo. Expect to see many brawls and chase scenes on streets and in alleyways, as if this movie is confused and thinks it’s “West Side Story.”

Why are the Montagues and the Capulets feuding? Don’t expect this movie to give clear answers. There’s a lot of shouting and scheming about who’s going to be loyal to the government and who’s going to be loyal to the Pope. At one point, Lord Montague slaps Romeo hard in the face and snarls, “You stand with this family, or you stand alone, son.” Meanwhile, Juliet’s parents give her distress by arranging for her to be engaged to a count named Paris (played by Dennis Andres), whom she doesn’t know. Juliet finds out about this engagement before she’s even met Paris.

“Juliet & Romeo” spends way too much time on side characters. Juliet has a clique of female friends named Rosaline (played by Tayla Parx), Veronica (played by Martina Ortiz Luis) and Lilly (played by Quinn Scott Bogart) who are like a tame 1301 Verona version of the “Sex and the City” women. There’s even a “female empowerment” sextet song titled “The Mask I Wear,” where each of them gets a solo with Lady Capulet and a newly created character named Vesante (played by Ledisi), whose purpose just seems to be so Grammy-winning singer Ledisi could have a role in this movie. Too bad the song packs a punch like a limp wrist.

Mercutio is having a romance with Veronica, so the movie shows them on dates and the first time that they spend the night together. Rosaline had a thing going with Tybalt, but she loses interest in him because he’s too much of a jerk. Is this the Romeo and Juliet story, or is it a teen soap opera? And by the way: Romeo, Juliet and most of their friends in this movie look much older than the teenagers they are supposed to be.

Surprisingly, Walsh-Peelo (who’s arguably the most talented male singer in the “Juliet & Romeo” cast; see the 2016 movie “Sing Street” for proof) does not get any solo songs as Tybalt, the story’s chief villain. He’s only heard in the group song “Streets on Fire,” which also features Rugaard, Ward, Parx, Ledisi, Podany and Parker. It seems like such a waste of Walsh-Peelo’s musical talent.

Other characters in the movie include Juliet’s nurse from childhood (played by Sarah Lazzaro), who would be called a nanny in modern times, but her character is sidelined for the teen romances. There’s also an unnamed apothecary (played by Dan Fogler), who invents the fateful potion that is consumed by Romeo and Juliet. He is depicted in this movie as a “mad scientist” type who does experiments on rats. And if you waited your whole life to see this story’s friar and apothecary do a duet called “I Should Write This Down” in a musical, then “Juliet & Romeo” is the movie for you.

Juliet and Romeo meet when she is visiting Verona from France, where she has been living as a student. They flirt with each other, but she won’t tell him her name the first time that they meet. Later, when Romeo is getting chased in an alley fight by Tybalt and some of his cronies, Juliet grabs Romeo and kisses him so that his face can be obscured. We’re supposed to believe that the guys chasing Romeo suddenly forget what he’s wearing because they don’t notice Romeo kissing Juliet as Tybalt and his fighting pals run right past Romeo and Juliet.

When Juliet and Romeo kiss again in another scene, she says to him: “I can’t tell if your poetry is prose.” She pauses and says, “Poetry it is then,” as she leans into him to give him another kiss. Rugaard is a little more convincing than Ward at showing emotions, but Ward and Rugaard lack the necessary chemistry together to be believable as a legendary couple. Ward shows more passion in the fight scenes than the love scenes, which is not the way to do things in one of the most famous love stories of all time.

Some of the cast members in “Juliet & Romeo” were in Timothy Scott Bogart’s 2023 feature-film directorial debut “Spinning Gold,” a very flawed biopic of his father Neil Bogart, a record company executive who helped artists such as Kiss, Donna Summer and Parliament-Funkadelic become major stars. Parx, Fogler and Ledisi were in “Spinning Gold,” which had the cast members do their own singing when performing songs from famous artists. “Spinning Gold” and “Juliet & Romeo” have the same problems: good singing trapped in a movie with a bad screenplay and mishandled direction. And when a movie about Romeo and Juliet doesn’t have an authentic-looking romance, it’s doomed to fail.

Briarcliff Entertainment released “Juliet & Romeo” in U.S. cinemas on May 9, 2025.