| Director | Sean Foley |
|---|
Richard Thorncroft is a former television actor, known for playing Detective Bruce Mindhorn, a detective with a cybernetic eye that enables him to see truth (described as an optical lie detector), on the 1980s TV show Mindhorn. Twenty-five years later, on the Isle of Man, where the series was filmed, police hunt the escaped lunatic Paul Melly, who's wanted for murder. Melly says he will only speak to Detective Mindhorn, believing Mindhorn is real.
Richard is now washed up, making a living advertising embarrassing products. Hoping to boost his career, he returns to help the case, irritating the local police with his arrogance. Melly's scheduled call to the police station leads to a meeting, ending in Melly's arrest. Richard sets out to reconnect with his Mindhorn co-star and ex, Patricia, discovering she lives with his former stuntman Clive, and daughter Jasmine.
Another of his Mindhorn co-stars, Pete Eastman, now stars in a successful spin-off series. Pete invites Richard around with the promise of a DVD release of Mindhorn, only to mock him. Dejected, Richard parties with his former manager Moncrieff, is detained after a night of drunkenness and cocaine-snorting, and dropped by his agent.
Waiting for his ferry home, Richard opens fan mail, and realises that it's from Melly, including a videotape showing the mayor committing the murder. Richard shows the tape to Moncrieff, who proposes using it to blackmail the mayor. He refuses to give the tape back, but appears to concede after a brief altercation. Richard meets Melly and the police, but discovers Moncrieff has swapped the tape. Moncrieff independently tries to blackmail the mayor but is killed by DS Baines, the mayor's niece and part of the conspiracy.
Melly and Richard escape to Melly's secret lair, filled with Mindhorn merchandise and homemade espionage equipment. Melly equips him with an extensive Mindhorn outfit, explaining he has a copy of the tape in the classic car used in Mindhorn. They escape Baines when Melly throws defective Mindhorn-brand truth powder in her face.
At Patricia and Clive's, Richard finds the car is in the local parade. Patricia finds letters to her from Richard that Clive hid from her. Richard, Melly and Patricia go to get the car from the parade, and are pursued by DS Baines to the beach. Richard finds the "copy" of the tape is just a plasticine model Melly made. Melly is hit by a bullet and appears to die. Baines arrives, and appears to kill Patricia and injure Richard. Richard records Baines' confession on a Mindhorn recorder belt that Melly had him wear.
The police arrive and Richard and Pat get up, having tricked Baines into using a gun with blanks. They prove Baines' and the mayor's roles in the murders with the tape. Richard then rescues Jasmine from Baines as she fires at him, with a gun he believes is also full of blanks. When told that he actually just narrowly dodged several real bullets, Richard faints. After recovering, Richard and Patricia get back together, Baines and the mayor are jailed, and Melly is found alive in his lair.