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Harry Enfield and Kathy Burke bring everyone’s favourite angst-ridden teenagers to the big screen


Heat

Harry Enfield has been fitted with an electronic penis for his role as Kevin the teenager in Kevin And Perry – The Movie, currently shooting in London and Ibiza. Enfield has described the film variously as an “English Wayne’s World” or “A rites-of-passage story, in an international setting.”

It sees Enfield and co-star Kathy Burke as the alienated, virginal teenage 16-year-olds flying to the Balearic dance capital to get laid and become “top mixmaster DJs”. Rhys Ifans. Spike from Notting Hill, plays the pair’s DJ hero, the rabidly egotistical Eyeball Paul.

A key prop in the movie is the electronic device which simulates the erections that constantly pop up in the shorts of Kevin and Perry. At a fitting we witnessed, Enfield was seen demanding the angle of bulge be greater, but the length of bulge be shorter: “It’s not length, it’s height.” This is possibly the only time in the history of film making that an actor has opted for a smaller stunt penis.

Key plot points include:

  • Eyeball Paul – so-called because he ingests vodka through his eyeball (“It gets into the bloodstream quicker” ) – initially views the two liggers as exploitable suckers. Calling them “Ginger Pubes” and “Sad Act”, he gets them to paint his bathroom in his Ibiza Town swankpad, before eventually getting round to playing the mix tape they’ve brought for him.
  • Like many teenagers on holiday, the pair have a massive bust-up, then a tender make-up. “We’re both trying to talk though the tears and be all very brave about it, it’s a very sweet scene,” says Enfield.
  • Kevin’s parents follow the boys to Ibiza to celebrate a second honeymoon. “It’s your worst nightmare,” says Enfield. “Not only are you not getting a shag, but you can hear your parents in the next room doing what you thought they’d only ever done once.”
  • Kevin and Perry finally get laid. It changes them forever.

One scene that was written, but not filmed, featured the boys popping a pill each and exchanging loved-up patter such as “We’re peas in a pod, and you’re the favourite pea in my pod.” The next day they discover the pills were just lentils. It was pulled because Enfield felt the scene would have turned the film into an “issue” movie. “I’m glad we took that decision,” he says.

One of the film’s extras is modelled on legendary Ibiza club freak Man In A Suitcase (motto: “Half man, half luggage”), who is dressed exactly as you’d expect from his name. In a scene where characters are having sex on the beach, he is shown enjoying congress with Lady In A Large Handbag.

Kevin And Perry is written by Enfield and regular collaborator Dave Cummings. It’s directed by comedy TV stalwart Ed Bye (BottomRed Dwarf).

A rapid post-production schedule should see the film released next April. A major soundtrack, curated by Radio 1 DJ Judge Jules, will play a significant role in its marketing.


By Charles Grant