For those who are unaware, Terry Pratchett is the well-loved author of the Discworld series of humorous fantasy novels. There are dozens of them in the series (the Tiffany Aching books being some of my favorite) and each takes the usual tropes and intermixes satire of our own world to yield a funny take on fantasy. Over the last half of the first decade of the 2000s, Sky TV in the UK has commissioned live-action films of three of Terry Pratchett's novels, The Colour of Magic (a funny look at tourism), Hogfather (a take on Santa Claus) and the latest: Going Postal (a take on communication and interconnectivity).
Going Postal is the story of Moist von Lapwing, a con artist, who finds himself in trouble with the Ankh-Morpork (A-M is the main city of the Discworld - think London only dirtier and more magical) constabulary and sentenced to death. Instead of being killed, the city's Patrician, Lord Vetinari, decides that Lipwig might serve another purpose and tasks him with running the A-M post office. This puts Lipwig in direct competition with Reacher Gilt, the owner and operator of the Clacks system (a set of semaphore towers connecting A-M with other cities in the Discworld for rapid communication), which has superseded the post office with its easy/fast communication.
What follows is a romp through obsession with collectibles, hacking of the Clacks, hallucinations and a man fighting for his life, to become respectable and to win the heart of the woman he is falling in love with. You don't have to be versed in the Discworld series to enjoy Going Postal. The story stands on its own while being perched on the back of the deep history the series has developed. There are tons of nods to the rest of the Discworld series and its many characters here, but you don't have to know them to enjoy it all.
The casting for Going Postal was great. Richard Coyle, playing Moist, was a good choice. If you watch British television, you might know him from Coupling where he played Jeff. He has gone on to carve out a good career since then and Going Postal was a good addition. The movie also stars Charles Dance as Lord Vetinari and Clare Foy as Adora Belle Dearheart, the love interest and the daughter of the man who invented the Clacks that were later taken over by Reacher Gilt. Clare recently starred with Richard Coyle in NBC's short-lived pirate show, Crossbones. Good to see them working together years earlier in Going Postal.
Going Postal runs about 3 hours in two 90 minute episodes and has many twists and turns. It is a good movie to start with if you are unfamiliar with Discworld. Just think, if you like it then there are lots of books to enjoy later. Many covering the same characters in more detail. There are differences between the book and the movie and the Wikipedia link above will list some of the differences. Even as a stand-alone movie, Going Postal works. I give it 4 Mick Happies and recommend you (and any pre-teen/teenagers in your house) sit back and enjoy. See you all in Ankh-Morpork.
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