Fridae

Director Guy Ritchie � better known as Madonna's husband � made his debut in 1998 with the terrific gangster comedy, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Since then, he's never quite veered away from the gangster genre. When he does, the results can be disastrous. (Seen Swept Away starring his wife? Exactly.)

RocknRolla takes him back where he belongs, in the gangster comedy genre. But this comes with a gay twist. Yes, you read it right � gay twist.

Tom Wilkinson plays a crime lord who loses a "lucky painting" that is on loan to him by a Russian mobster (Karel Roden). By hook or crook, he must get it back � otherwise the Russians may have his head sooner than he can say "bratva". A procession of crooks, criminals and murderers with names like Cookie and Mumbles appear as the plot gets more complicated and the body count rises.

For gay audiences, it's interesting to note that RocknRolla has a funny gay subplot. It involves the gangster Handsome Bob (played by the gorgeous Tom Hardy) telling his best friend, an ex-convict called One Two (Gerard Butler), that he is gay. Not only that, Handsome Bob reveals that he's been in love with One Two for the longest time and wants to make out with him. One Two is shocked, Handsome Bob starts pouting, and the two men share a slow dance that is absolutely hilarious.

(Hmmm... gay-friendly Madonna must have had an effect on her husband too...)

Just like Guy's first film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and his second film Snatch, RocknRolla is a manic roller coaster ride with lots of strange and funny denizens of the criminal underworld. No one blinks when someone gets shot or says something dumb, and the blood splatters fast and furiously. But there is no ignoring the homoerotic jokes that marks RocknRolla as one of the most gay-friendly gangster movies ever.

No need to intellectualize a movie like this. Just sit back and enjoy this as pure popcorn entertainment.