Running Naked
Director:
Victor Buhler
Writers:
Victor Buhler
Mathew Ehlers
Jennifer Knowles
Starring:
Matthew McNulty
Tamzin Merchant
Rakhee Thakrar
Feel good comedy drama following two friends’ journey through life changing events. Cancer survivors Ben and Mark’s friendship is tested when a piece of news forces them to change their perspectives. Love, friendship and streaking.
At the heart of RUNNING NAKED are two lifelong friends who met each other when they were teenage leukemia patients. Twenty years later MARK DOHERTY has become a successful doctor and ladies’ man. Meanwhile BEN TAYLOR has devolved into obsessional recluse whose life is a series of obsessive habits. A piece of news forces Mark to reassess his life and, in the process, convinces him to play a bigger part in Ben’s. Mark risks everything he has in order to break Ben out of his shell.
Together the two rediscover their spirit of adventure: they sell everything they own on the high street, they get into a fight with two policemen (and spend a night in jail), they lose all their money – only to win it back at the dog track. They pick up girls. They go sailing and, as the horizon opens in front of their boat, it feels as if the world is once again full of possibilities. But Mark has been keeping a secret and once Ben learns of it, both friends crash back to earth.
They must face the deeper questions in their life: can Mark finally commit to his on-again and off-again girlfriend JADE? Can he face his own mortality? Can Ben free himself from his mad obsessions? Can he build up the nerve to approach SARA, the first decent girl he’s met in a long, long time? RUNNING NAKED is a story about friendship and about how, in life, we sometimes need to unbutton our shirt collars, kick off our shoes, and streak through life unabashed.
Review
by Hiral Deugi
Firstly, when I found out it was a movie about two young lads going through treatment. Straightaway I thought “oh no” this might be too close to home and thought I might need to keep tissues ready for the emotional scenes. However, with that being said, my reaction was actually quite the opposite. This movie highlighted friendship during tough times and how they had each other to support but also how important it is to be there for one another.
For me personally, I never thought you could put comedy and cancer in the same genre, but the Running Naked team made it happen. Keeping it light-hearted and making me grin rather than cry just shows it was well put together. From the script, the cast, the whole movie storyline was brilliant. I laughed throughout because I could relate to the scenes.
I always avoided cringe cancer type of movies only because it was emotionally distressing but this movie I highly recommend, it’s a good watch. The writer’s message was to highlight friendship aspects during tough times and how the main characters Ben and Mark are just trying to live their lives to the fullest which as a viewer was so inspiring. They do things out of the ordinary especially for Ben because he has OCD. Highly recommend this movie and I’m sure you’ll reach out to your friends after watching if you haven’t in a while, especially during the current situation, as this movie just give you a pure warm fuzzy feeling inside. I know I’ll be recommending this movie to my friends.
Hiral Deugi was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia aged 21 and has been supported by charity Teenage Cancer Trust since.
Online Premier
Running Naked which enjoys its Online Premier on 4th February at 8pm on Our Screen https://www.ourscreen.com/ with a portion of proceeds going to Teenage Cancer Trust and Weston Park Hospital. The film will also be available via Digital Download from 8th February on Amazon, itunes, Virgin, and SKY.
Trigger warning: although this film is a comedy there are a few scenes that could be challenging emotionally for people affected by cancer, including a relapse storyline.