Sixty Six

'Sixty-Six' is yet,another comedy from the United Kingdom that goes down easy without any unpleasant side effects (in short,a slight, albeit winning good time). The plot concerns Bernie Rubens,a young Jewish boy of English background who is about to make his Bar Mitzvah,only to find out that it's concurrent with England competing against Germany for the World Cup of 1966. Set against all of Bernie's teen angst is some nicely told tales of his eccentric father (Eddie Marsden,seen recently as the bitter automobile instructor in Mike Leigh's 'Happy Go Lucky'), who runs a small green grocer with his Uncle,his loving Mother (Helena Bonham Carter,always welcome on screen),his older Brother,Alvy, and a host of others. The film has a snappy,well written screenplay (loosly based on the director's own life & experiences when he had his Bar Mitzvah,and even contains some actual home movie footage of the festivities). Stephen Rea also has some slight,but nice screen time as a doctor. This is a film that has been getting some sketchy distribution in the United States,but is worth seeking out (it was originally released in 2006). Rated PG-13 by the MPAA,this film contains a bit of raunchy language,a flash of nudity & some adult situations. Okay for older teens.

The coming of age tale is always one of the most enjoyable and heartfelt types of film, with Sixty Six proving that it is worth the viewer's time because of the wonderful character driven film that it is. It should be noted that because of the film's plot, you should immediately know that it won't be story driven outside of the characters' individual stories. To make it simple, if you know how the 1966 World Cup turned out, you know how this film is going to end. So, it is for that reason that I say, if you don't know how that World Cup ended, don't look it up. The film will tell you, and to be honest, it was one of the things that made it such a great movie for me. Knowing the outcome of the matches, however, doesn't take away from the experience.

In a character driven film, the performances are obviously the most important, and here we have a trifecta of awesomeness. First and foremost, in one of my favorite performances of the decade, Eddie Marsan really shows some muscle and range as Bernie's father, in one of the most silently moving performances of recent memory. The character by himself is a hell of a subject to study, a neurotic and paranoid man who has lost faith in his own life because of the lack of success in his family business, and feeling distant from his wife. Marsan pulls this off wonderfully. You can't help but feel bad for him, despite numerous bad choices in the film.

Helena Bonham Carter is, as usual, excellent as Bernie's mother. I really appreciated her towards the end of the film, when all of our characters have an epiphany. Youngster Gregg Sulkin is wonderful in his first role, and he should have plenty of work in the future. What you get from this film is a tad bit of predictability, yet where that hurts the film, the characters make up for it. Even supporting characters, such as one played by Stephen Rea, are as intriguing as the big three.

If you enjoy teary moments, boys becoming men in their life, and a bit of British humor, Sixty Six is bound to be enjoyable for you. I was very glad I caught it in the brief run it had in my theater, because it's definitely one of the better movies that has come out recently, in addition to providing a nice break from all the summer explosions. As for Brits looking for this film to see, odds are that it's already on DVD in your neck of the woods, as it was released in the UK about two years ago.

I like all kinds of movies, and this quiet, thoughtful, 'homemade' kind of Brit-flick was enjoyable. There's not much of a plot--- a kid's approaching bar mitzvahs happens to fall on the same day as the 1966 soccer World Cup Final match. That scheduling conflict means no one will attend his event, and he has been taught and primed to expect the bar mitzvahs to be the most significant and important day in his life. So he is freaking out a bit--- but the soccer game is an issue only if Englands winds enough qualification games to enter the finals, and no one expects them to. Done. That's the plot. Obviously, the Big Day arrives; I leave it to you to discover how England fares, and how the kid's family life unfolds.

An important sub-plot is the kid's family. the dad is a retiring and overly-shy shlub, contrasted with his dynamic and 'life of the party', go-getter brother, the kid's uncle. The kid's older brother is a vicious bully, and his mom (Helena Bonham Carter) is the only loving, reasonable voice of strength in the family. Oh--- the kid's blind rabbi and bar mitzvahs coach, and Stephen Rae as the kid's physician also play a guiding roles for the boy.

Anyway--- things kind of creep along for the first half. It became a bit tedious, and I contemplated leaving. However, the second half was much perkier than the first, and the ending was genuinely exciting and thrilling. So, overall, while the pace was bit uneven, the end result was a pretty satisfying movie. In retrospect, I kind of wished the front end could have been a bit racier, or less 'portraiting' of the depressing family, or something. On balance, I liked it.

How nice to watch a film suitable for children that is funny, compassionate and resonates with their problems. No animation, no talking animals, but a boy and his family, He gets picked on, ignored, and teach himself to grow up. My ten year old grandson rates this as one of his favourite films ever.

It is also very appealing on an adult level. Witty, perceptive and devoid of sentimentality,it is plain good fun.

The acting and writing are flawless and the recreation of 1966 is breath-taking. I am in awe of the production designer and the colourisers. It all works smoothly, although it did leave me wondering 'How did they do that?'.

Typical British "feel good" film. No guns no car chases - no murders just a great touching family story that keeps the best until the last

Lovely!