Good and Bad at Games

I remember seeing this film when I was fairly young & being quite disturbed by it. I found the storyline very distressing and can still remember the various bullying techniques used. One in particular was when the other school children spat in his soup before he could even taste a spoonful. They also bound him and shaved his private parts. This was all because he was unpopular. Why was he unpopular? Because he was bad at games. I have a feeling though that even if he was good at games he would have been bullied because it's hard to decide what makes someone popular. To me, he is the type of person who would always be picked on because that's how children operate. Popular children are popular because they are in some way 'cool'. Popularity is a hard thing to define. So, even at the end when he is successful in his career it makes no difference & he is still left feeling tormented. I found the ending quite distressing as there was no resolution.

I've only seen this film once when it was shown on tv but I can still remember it 15 years later so that must say something about it. I thought it was an intelligent look into schooling, friendship, bullying and the influence it can have leading into adult life.

The title really refers to how being good or bad at sports can either make you the lowest of the low or you will be tolerated by the cliques within school and even later on into adulthood if you're good at it- this is set in a private school in England but it could be anywhere.

The main character is bad at games, seeks revenge in later life which all culminates in a climactic confrontation on a cricket pitch. I must admit I was gutted by the ending - it was powerful and saddening.

I remember this film very well, as being a vivid evocation of bullying at school and the effect it can have on the rest of your life...the final climactic scene on the cricket pitch still haunts me today! My one complaint is that this is never shown on TV - it hasn't been on for about 15 years for the best of my knowledge, while many lesser films get an annual outing!

Other reviewers have eloquently explained why this is such a painfully accurate and disturbing drama - particularly if you went to a school like this, of which there were many. The outsider Niles particularly rings true - desperate to be accepted, but despised by Mount, Joyce and Harrop. It is such a shame that Channel 4 don't repeat the film or make it available on DVD. I can only assume it is because of Niles' nickname - even though the whole point of the name is to show the obnoxiousness of the characters of Mount, Joyce and Harrop and to emphasise that Niles will always be an outsider to them.

I absolutely love this film and have seen it many times. I taped it in about 1987 when it was shown on Channel Four but my tape is severely worn now and I would love a new copy of it.I have e-mailed Film Four to ask them to show it again as it has never been available on video and as far as I know hasn't been repeated since the 80's. I have had no reply and it still hasn't been repeated. The performances are superb. The film has everything. Its funny,sad,disturbing,exciting and totally takes you back to school days. It is extremely well paced and grips you from start to end. The scene in the shower room is particularly horrific. I also cannot hear the song Badge by Cream and not think of this film. This film deserves to be seen by a much larger audience as it is superb. Channel Four please show again or release on Video or DVD.