It’s All Gone Pete Tong

It’s All Gone Pete Tong (2004)
Director: Michael Dowse
Actors: Paul Kaye, Kate Magowan, Beatriz Batarda

Synopsis: Laddish Ibiza “Super DJ”, Frankie Wilde (Paul Kaye), finds his life of unadulterated hedonism on the ‘White Isle’ rudely interrupted when he begins to suffer from increasing deafness. With that humility though, Wilde learns to hone what little sonic skills he has, and finds love with a Spanish deaf instructor, Penelope (Beatriz Batarda).

Review: Although the culture of dance music and Ibiza in general have been woefully underserved by the cinematic medium so far (hence one of the reasons why I conceived of my own Eivissa project), I’m still curious enough about any picture, even loosely associated with the isle, to pay it a visit.

Mind you though, It’s All Gone Pete Tong is 90 minutes of absolute mindless drivel. In many respects, I would have taken an archer, more conventional sketch-show depiction of Ibiza à la Kevin and Perry, because this falls between all stools. It’s satirical aims are so obvious – the ‘rock star’, laddish cult of the DJ in Ibiza, the shallowness and tacky commercialism of some elements of the island’s dance music culture – but to drag them out over an hour and a half is simply nauseating. And bizarrely, director Michael Dowse and main actor Paul Kaye are really going for it. It’s almost as if they’re genuinely serious about the piece’s minor conceit of DJ Frankie Wilde going through some form of ironic sonic epiphany when he loses his hearing, but conversely recaptures his holistic musical soul. I get it – but just because I do get it, doesn’t excuse the almost total lack of drama through the film’s running time. (June 2014)