First screening for Small Apartments

Small Apartments, in which Matt Lucas makes his debut big-screen leading role, has received its first screening in the States.

In the film, which was shown at the SXSW festival, the Little Britain star plays a clumsy, weird ‘shut-in’ who accidentally kills his landlord. He spends most of the movie wearing just his underwear and clogs.

In an interview following the screening, Lucas – who previously appeared in the more mainstream Bridesmaids – said he wasn’t too afraid of looking ridiculous on screen.

‘I don’t have Ashton Kutcher’s looks to lose. So, you know, what the hell?’ he told Entertainment Weekly. ‘I already look like Uncle Fester on a good day, so it doesn’t really matter to me.’

‘I used to do stand-up comedy when I started out and I used to heckle myself before the audience could heckle me. It’s that kind of thing.’

Small Apartments has a star-studded cast, which also includes Dolph Lundgren, Johnny Knoxville, James Caan and Billy Crystal.

However reaction to the film has not been encouraging, with early critics finding it too strange and impenetrable.

Moviehole called it ‘too weird to be enjoyable’, adding: ‘I can’t imagine how this film even got made, honestly.’

While Collider said: ‘[Director Jonas] Åkerlund’s attempts to confuse and mislead through grotesque characters, mood swings, and sloppy pacing keep us intrigued but rarely invested.

But in conceded that Small Apartments ‘deserves credit for getting inside your head through force of strangeness alone’.

Lucas said: ‘It's a strange film, and although it is quite heightened, it's a much more naturalistic performance than I often give in things like Little Britain.’

It has also been revealed that Lucas has joined the cast of The King Of Soho, in which Steve Coogan will portray porn baron Paul Raymond.

He will appear in one scene as drag queen legend Divine in director Michael Winterbottom’s biopic.

Chris Addison this week revealed he will play the editor of an X-rated magazine in the film, while Dara O Briain has a cameo as a comedian.

Here is Lucas, Knoxville and Akerlund talking about Small Apartments:

Published: 14 Mar 2012