Holiday on the Buses

I loved these films growing up and watching this in my 30s is just a fun. Perhaps they don't make me laugh out loud but the do give a warm feeling. I think this one Is the better of the On The Buses films.

On The Buses fans expect Stan, Jack and Blakey to do the business and here, as always, they are not disappointed. I can imagine that anyone coming cold to this or the other two Buses movies might be expecting more, but On the Buses isn't about convoluted stories or endless jokes. If you are a fan it's another dose of pure escapism, if you are not it must be diabolical. There's no in between. But then the same is true of Steptoe And Son, Are You Being Served?, Dad's Army and all the other spin offs. And remember, Buses got 3 spin offs, one of them being the highest grossing British film of 1971. Most of the other TV series, Steptoe apart, only survived one large screen airing, so it can't be half bad.

If you were growing up in Britain in the 1970s or early 80s, then Holiday On The Buses will provide you with a very potent hit of nostalgia that will doubtless get you talking about "the good old days". It's nobody's idea of sophisticated, and the arthouse crowd should avoid it like the plague, but if you approach it with an open mind you'll probably have a good time.

It's all very predictable, of course, but it fits in nicely with a sub-genre of British comedy best described as "everything goes wrong" where it sits alongside Fawlty Towers and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. There are plenty of minor stars on display soon, such as Grange Hill's Mr Bronson, regular Benny Hill sidekick Henry McGee, Joan from Love Thy Neighbour and the inimitable Arthur Mullard.

It's not quite Carry On, but it passes the time painlessly.

Holiday... marks the epitome of early/mid 70s low brow humour. The British industry was in a dire state and the majority of films churned out were things like this. Anyway, the film is excellent. Stan and Jack, the world's oldest swinging batchelors, somehow pull every young bird around which gives hope to us lesser mortals because if they can (especially Jack) then we all can. There's plenty of innuendo, wearing of flares and cravets on view and it all amounts to a classic film. If only things were like that now...

Know all the locations very well and have photo's of them and the newly installed plaque at Pontin's Prestatyn to mark the film by the Welsh film location society. The film is often criticized unfairly - but in my opinion it is better than any Hollywood trash and remakes that are continuously released to keep the ijits in jobs. Britain as it was ... and still is in many respects. Just watch with an open mind and enjoy the scenery (and visit it like I have LOL). British films are not about special effects, car-chases, Hollywood Brat pack etc, but about real situations that at least on one level we can all relate to. Just think back to your childhood holidays with the family ... or think of the old tales of them lol, and this film has them. A British Classic film,,, give me a Brit Flick any day rather than a Hollywood release full of fake people. HIghly recommended - the other two On the buses films are Rita, Sue and Bob Too, Letter To Brezhnev, Beautiful Thing. All down-to-earth British films about real life - must be viewed!!!