be warned . . brit love story in the offing . effeminate , mild-mannered karl is about to take a beatng from a bunch of ruffians at school as he bathes himself under a shower , his genitals tucked between his legs in the manner of a posing transvestite . he is only just saved by prentice , who appears in all respects barring his protective attitude towards karl to be your average street-wise punk-in-the-making . the ensuing scene ends up with both boys being ridiculed and then unfairly expelled from the school . they do not see each other for another eighteen yeas . in that time , prentice has matured into a somewhat loveable , if brash and bull-heaed goon who screws up his jobs and relationships while gamely clinging onto perennial adolescence via lether jackets , motorcycles and punk rock music . karl , on the other hand , has grown up to become kim , a drabby , insecure woman who works as a verse writer for a greeting card company . chance brings the two together , and love , such as will inevitably blossom in your quirky british romantic comedy , is what this skewed little story is largely about . if at this point you think you're going to get any cheap laughs with that gender-bending theme ( see the birdcage , to wong foo . . . , priscilla queen of the desert ) , <NEG> you can just go home and brood on your own maladjusted sexuality you low-life deadbeat </NEG> . kim is a post-operative transsexual , thank you very much . . . a new-born woman for all purposes , with confusions and sensitivities that deserve treatment with a touch of delicacy . personally , give me those cheap laughs any day . i'd rather enjoy obvious camp than endure the shallow exploration of a soft- hearted transsexual love story . different for girls comes up with a promising enough proposition , but does nothing that surpasses the merely workmanlike with it . by refusing to make the audience really uncomfortable with the notion of kim and prentice's relation- ship , or at the very least feel uncomfortable for them ( prentice for example , doesn't seem to give hiself all that much grief when he becomes attracted to kim despite being a fight-picking , beer-drinking , macho kind of guy , and kim , for all her insecurities and fears is always saved any truly disturbing victimisation in the film ) , and instead drawing them into <NEG> a basically wimpy love story </NEG> , the film manages to lobotomise itself . lightweight comedy as it's doomed to be , it could've still have hacked it with the requisitive endearing couple . but this doesn't either , since even mrs doubtfire is sexier than steven mackintosh's kim foyle , and as either sex , he's just plainly a simpering wanker nobody should like . prentice does though , and that's never explained . but then rupert graves gives us so heroic performance as prentice , the guy who never grew up ( and if there is a bafta prize for most convincing portrayal of a rabid fan at a buzzcocks' concert , he should win that too ) that i guess there's no reason to explain why he's so screwed up . <NEG> if oddly enough you grow to like this show </NEG> , you'll be wanting your happy ending , and the film won't fail you there either . snide underling at kim's office gets her come-uppance . misogynistic police officer who beats up prentice gets his come-uppance . the couple prevail against a disagreeable society and come together in kim's apartment . kim's sister and her impotent sarge-type husband kiss and make up after a tiff ( tv movie sub-plot with incidental juxtaposition ) . and best of all , kim sheds her insecurities and learns how to ride the motorcycle and wear leathers , making prentice ride pilion . awwww . terrific closure . happy ending . but just what is it that's differnt for girls anyway ? if you figure that one out , let me know . the flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! * * * pretty good , bring a friend . * * * * amazing , potent stuff . * * * * * perfection . see it twice .
