Nina Conti is having a bit of a moment. She has just appeared in the long-awaited Spinal Tap sequel and now here's Sunlight, which she wrote, directed and co-stars in. Though you won't see much of Conti herself in it - apart from one memorable love scene which I'll come to in a moment, she is mostly dressed as a monkey.

 

Sunlight, executive produced by Christopher Guest, is basically a twisted road trip with added fur. Shenoah Allen, from comic duo Pajama Men, plays troubled radio host Roy who has just attempted suicide. But when that doesn't work out, thanks to a monkey intervention, he finds himself driving a large American camper van looking for sunlight in the darkness.

 

Along for the ride is Conti's larger than life monkey, which looks the same as the monkey puppet that features in her stage act, except that she is inside the costume rather than just having her hand up its rear. Roy wants to visit his father's grave to get some closure, she wants to set up a banana pontoon business in Colorado.

 

As they travel along the twosome have a fractious, awkward relationship. Both are searching for something that always seems to be just out of reach. And yet because they share this yearning they start to get closer.

 

This culminates in a sex scene where Allen's character does the ultimate in multitasking. How can I put this delicately? He fingerbangs a monkey while hurtling down the highway. They certainly don't teach you that in driving lessons.

 

As is clear from that highly charged moment the two main characters form a bond, even though the monkey does have a bit of a temper. Drying herself off in a toilet at one point she lets off an impressive stream of expletives.

 

Sunlight has a low-budget indie sensibility, some nice comic visuals, and some great lines. But at its heart it's a touching film about lost souls looking for meaning and connection. Will Roy find lasting happiness with a monkey? You'll have to watch to find out. Bring your own bananas.