Arthur's Dyke

This British (very) light comedy, is a conventional modern Pilgrims Progress that attempts to do for the Offa's Dyke long-distance walking path what "Shirley Valentine" did for Greece and "Educating Rita" did for the Open University.

The cluster of UK TV-hits acting talent did their best with the script, but ultimately were unable to get past the contemporary clichés and cardboard characterisations. Since the star was meant to be the landscape and a flavour of how nice it is to walk through the English/Welsh Countryside, the director should have gone the whole hog and treated us to the best spectacle the location has to offer. However, the shots are fine enough, authentic and evocative, and that's what kept me awake late at night watching it right through to the end. And the message of the story - that I have turned into a TV/computer couch-potato, managed to hit home.

Just for the record, Offa's Dyke was the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of the Berlin Wall, (or, to be more up to date, the Palestine Wall.) It is 180 miles long, and built by Offa, King of Mercia, in the latter half of the 8th century to separate the Welsh from the English. Today it winds through English and Welsh Counties, thus one gets a bit of both, which the film conveys.

I wanted to give it 5.5 heading for 6 by my scoring method, but for some reason I settled on 5, probably through feeling embarrassed for the competent team of actors, and the UK comedy industry as a whole.

A fine and classically accurate representation of country hikes in the UK. I have a lot of experience of such walks and consider this movie a definite five star effort. Warren Clarke was superb. I am STILL laughing!

It made me feel quite homesick.

I was surprised at the negative comments in one of the other reviews, obviously written by someone who has never gone past the end of the street!

A road trip with a difference. This film superbly charts the lives of 3 students who meet again after 20 years to conquer a long distance walk. Along the way they pick up a middle aged Pauline Quirke, who wants to leave the drudgery of her life and find something to give her a jolt. The cast is cast brilliantly, Robert Daws plays the obnoxious Arthur to great effect, bullying the others along. He tries desperately to relive his younger days, attempting to sleep with any woman that passes his way. This movie will appeal to Uk fans and lovers of great story lines alike. The ending may appear a little strange but works well with the story that had unfolded throughout.

Despite so much acting talent between the main characters, the script, direction, premise and plot are all atrocious. Looks like it was made for Sunday evening consumption. Should have been a made-for-cable or not made at all. Avoid!

If you like to see films with beautiful landscapes elegant villages, and wooded forest, then this is a good film for you, but take away that and your left with really nothing, the characters were fine but should have been given more depth, and at the end when Pauline quirke decided to leave her annoying but loverble sidekicks, left me just thinking, what about there sticking together, i know one was taken to hospital, but it ruined for me what i thought was a journey of friendship and understanding for each other, but i was left thinking that Pauline's character was a bit cold Pauline quirke gives her usual sulky sarcastic performance, as always, and the others are just watchable, i think this film only pulled through due to the surroundings of where it was filmed, A hit or miss