People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan review – one giant leap for the BBC mockumentary

Rarely does a half-hour TV show successfully stretch itself into a 90-minute film. It’s a nice surprise, then, that the popular BBC mockumentary works as a feature. It’s been 15 years since the golden age of garage, and Kurupt FM’s MC Grindah (Allan Mustafa) is now a postman, while DJ Beats (Hugo Chegwin) works at a bowling alley. Sure, they only ever had two tracks, but when one, the hilariously titled Heart Monitor Riddem, ends up appearing on a Japanese gameshow, manager Chabuddy G (Asim Chaudhry, a proud, bumbling highlight) wrangles the whole gang an all-expenses-paid trip to meet record-label executives in Tokyo.

While it’s pretty standard idiots abroad stuff, there’s a sweetness to the characters that stops the comedy from feeling crass. It’s genuinely touching when Beats performs Dry Your Eyes by the Streets in a high-rise karaoke bar, while the perpetually stoned Steves (Steve Stamp) has the air of a helpless puppy, swaddled in an inflatable life vest on the plane.