English comedy attempsts spaghetti western

To say Once Upon a Time in the Midlands is a western would be a stretch, but throw in some horses and guns and all the elements would be there.\nDirector/writer Shane Meadows is actually alluding to a western with music straight out of a spaghetti western. While this British import certainly can take this genre to the suburbs, it runs a little long at times and is light on laughs. \nRhys Ifans (Notting Hill) plays Dek, a man with love trouble, who has already been embarrassed by his girlfriend Shirley (Shirley Henderson) when he proposes to her on a Jenny Jones-type talk show. Despite the fact she turns him down, they stay together but their relationship is thrown for a loop when her criminal ex-husband Jimmy (Robert Carlyle) shows up and wants her back. Not only is Jimmy a lowlife but he's just run out on his accomplices with a lot of money. Trying to get rid of him, Dek shows the accomplices where Jimmy is staying but causes more trouble, including Shirley getting back with Jimmy. Of course that's not the end of the movie. There still is a showdown between wimp Dek and badass Jimmy for Shirley's heart to follow the western theme. \nWhat the movie fails to do is properly explain characters' motivations. Before the showdown, Dek is about to leave town. Why just give up? Why does Shirley go back to Jimmy right after the gang of thugs go looking for him? Midlands also almost totally ignores the B plot, which is the first plot introduced as well. \nEven though the plot lacks at points, what saves Midlands is definitely great performances from the cast. Two of brightest spots come from Henderson and Ifans. Henderson acts as a perky mom who has lost her fizz. Ifans gives a great performance as more of a straight man than his wackier roles (i.e. Notting Hill, The Replacements) of the past. \nHumor here is very English, with much of it relying on words that are not in normal American lexicon. Essentially they're calling each other stupid or weak, but there are just so many words. Also, a lot comes from the destruction of Dek's car Baby. There are probably more inside jokes about the Midlands in England but not being from there, they are lost on an American audience. There is a good premise here, but the plot goes off into a sunset that is far away from here.