The Gift That Keeps On Giving (To Conservative Pundits)

A few weeks back I wrote about the official gift that Barack Obama made of 25 classic American movies on DVD to the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. I didn't think it was as bad as other people made it out to be, because I'm film buff; but this hadn't occurred to me.

Alas, when the PM settled down to begin watching them the other night, he found there was a problem.

The films only worked in DVD players made in North America and the words "wrong region" came up on his screen. Although he mournfully had to put the popcorn away, he is unlikely to jeopardise the special relationship – or "special partnership", as we are now supposed to call it – by registering a complaint.

A Downing Street spokesman said he was "confident" that any gift Obama gave Brown would have been "well thought through," but referred me to the White House for assistance on the "technical aspects".

So I guess I can officially admit the gift sucked. Hopefully when Obama visits England in April his people will have had time to come up with something just as American but a little less problematic, like a monster truck with the steering wheel on the right side. Or George Clooney and Julia Roberts.

By the way, if someone at 10 Downing is willing to break the law, multi-region DVD players are pretty common in Europe. Don't give up on seeing VERTIGO, man! It's a little difficult but damn fine movie-makin'.