Simon Pegg and David Schwimmer make an unlikely double-act in the dark comedy thriller Big Nothing. A simple blackmail plot leads to "enjoyably farcical" and increasingly bizarre methods of murder guaranteed to offend moviegoers of a delicate sensibility. No wonder most critics quite liked it; unfortunately the paying public stayed away in droves during the crowded Christmas run-up.

Something From Nothing

In a Making Of featurette writer-director Jean-Baptiste Andrea explains that Big Nothing was "born out of anger" after three years failing to get a film off the ground. (That explains quite a lot actually.) Later on he chats about trying to achieve an off-kilter feel to the action by strapping cameras to the actors and using split-screen techniques and animation. Of course there's also a chance for the actors to rave about their director and each other. The US contingent, like Schwimmer and Jon Polito, wax lyrical about Pegg and his "surreal sense of humour" while Pegg explains that, despite being bigshot Americans, Schwimmer and Polito "don't carry a lot of ego". It's plain to see though, how much they all enjoy working together. And we use the term 'working' very loosely...

It turns out that Pegg and co. spent most of the shoot loafing, or at least that's the impression you get from two accompanying featurettes. Pegg's video diary finds him talking to seagulls on the Isle of Man, inspecting Scwhimmer's spots and, on a brief stint in Canada, surfing for porn on his hotel television set.

As if that wasn't up-close-and-personal enough, Schwimmer presents the 'shocking' exposé The Truth About Simon Pegg. It's one of those mini mockumentaries where everyone on the set pretends to hate Pegg because he's really difficult to work with, yada, yada, yada, Mr Schwimmer, we know the drill... In fact the most revealing snapshot of Pegg is his carefully considered pseudo-academic diatribe against the re-mastering of the original Star Wars series.

A Lot Of Talk About Nothing

Pegg, Andrea and Alice Eve deliver an appropriately oddball film commentary. It's rare that anything said actually relates to what's happening on screen except in the most tangential way. For instance, Pegg remarks on how curious it is that his facial hair is ginger despite having a blond head of hair. This sparks a lengthy debate about the vagaries of male grooming. Eve simply cannot understand why men grow beards with Pegg ultimately concluding that, "The original function of a beard is to make gay men look straight." Occasionally Andrea will chip in with something film-related like, "Has anyone noticed this beautiful colour timing...?"

If like Schwimmer and Polito you appreciate Pegg's sense of humour, then you'll certainly enjoy this DVD. It boasts that gleefully twisted sensibility that could make Big Nothing a cult hit on small screens.

EXTRA FEATURES

Big Nothing DVD is released on Monday 16th April 2007.