Thunderpants (2002)

Thunderpants is a 2002 family absurdist comedy film about a boy whose incredible capacity for flatulence gets him a job as an astronaut. The film was directed by Pete Hewitt, and the script was written by Phil Hughes, based on a story by Pete Hewitt about a boy who dreams of being a spaceman, despite his chronic flatulence.

Plot

Born with two stomachs, Patrick Smash (Bruce Cook) is uncontrollably and devastatingly flatulent. No more than thirty seconds after his birth, he first breaks wind, horrifying his parents (Bronagh Gallagher and Victor McGuire) and doctor (Robert Hardy). As he grows up, Patrick's farts become so uncontrollable and destructive that his father has to flee their home, as he is often injured by his son's gaseous emissions, whose force is so strong that it can blow people over. Patrick is bullied at school as a result of his condition, but eventually finds strength in his disorder, ultimately gaining revenge on the school bully Damon (Josh Herdman) by passing gas in his face, leaving him scarred for life.

Patrick's only friend is child prodigy Alan A. Allen (Rupert Grint), who has anosmia, and, therefore, lacks the ability to smell. Alan and Patrick team up to make Thunderpants, reinforced short trousers strong enough to contain Patrick's emissions.

One day, on the way to visit Alan, Patrick sees Alan being taken away in a mysterious black car; Alan's father informs Patrick that Alan will not be returning home soon. Patrick gets recruited by an opera singer (Simon Callow) to help him with his world tour; Patrick uses this as an opportunity to search for Alan, while on tour Patrick is arrested and convicted of murder. They sentence him to firing squad and he is nearly killed, then saved by US intelligence agents. Eventually, Patrick learns that Alan went to the US to help retrieve a group of astronauts who are trapped in outer space, and Patrick finds that his condition may be of use to the spacemen in peril.

Cast

Reception

The film has received a rating of 67% at the film review website Rotten Tomatoes, based upon 6 reviews.

Empire magazine wrote in their review that Thunderpants is "a well-made, quirky oddity for adults, but a laugh riot for kids and Beano nostalgists... underneath all the expelled air it's really just a simple tale of a boy finding his talent and making the most of it".

During an appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Paul Giamatti referred to this film as one of the high points in his career. In 2023, whilst promoting The Holdovers, Giamatti referred to Thunderpants as "brilliant" and "one of the most remarkable movies [he's] been in".

References

External links

Thunderpants at IMDb

Thunderpants on Variety

Thunderpants on BBC