Mutiny on the Buses

Bus driver Stan gets engaged to sweetheart Suzy - much to the annoyance of Stan's mother, sister and brother in law; how will they afford to pay the rent without Stan's money coming into the house? In order to be able to move out, Stan agrees to help Arthur get a job on the buses with him. However his attempts to teach him how to drive the bus are frustrated by Blakey's new boss and his efficiency drives.

Anyone approaching On The Buses cannot really complain about the humour being basic, sexist and crude - this is a given. However it is the other qualities that make this a bad film. True the humour is very broad, sexist and silly but this wouldn't have been a problem for me if it had even managed to ever be funny more than once. Sadly it doesn't and is depressingly devoid of laughs throughout. This is made worse by a plot that actually has no idea where it is going - it uses the very basic frame of Stan's engagement but where it goes with it is just all a bit silly and doesn't really work. The collection of scenes that make up the plot are supposed to be wacky and fun but actually just stand out as badly dated and banal, certainly laughs are not part of them.

The material also lets down the characters as none of them are engaging - it is a damning comment on the script that I never cared one way or another what happened to the characters here. The cast don't help - the drivers are all womanising lads, the bosses all incompetent and flustered and the girls either battleaxes or `hot totty'! Varney and Grant don't display much in the way of comic ability here as they are not given anything to work with but the most basic tools. The only character that stands out is Blakey but that is more down to his memorable and oft-imitated line; he isn't great but his character is the most enjoyable of a bad bunch.

Overall it is unfair to complain that this film's humour is broad and sexist because what else did you really expect from this film series? However it is fair to complain that the film lacks laughs, any sort of plot and is really difficult to enjoy even if you expect it to be broad and basic. A really poor film that is wholly lacking in laughs and is pretty unenjoyable all told.

The Second of the movies, and Stan's got himself engaged, and is struggling to make ends meet. The Bus company is under new management and the've got a chance to do some Safari Tours and they need a driver for the job. Stan needs the job of driving on this tour but after making a poor impression on the new boss, he has no chance. That is until hes caught being inappropriate with a clippy by Stan and Jack, who successfully blackmail Stans way onto the Tour to Blakeys dismay.

With some good laughs and still the original cast, this is a must see for On the Buses Fans.

7/10

One of the better film comedies of the early seventies trend of making the transition from the small to the big screen. All three films easily surpassed the blandness of the TV series which is currently (Aug 2000) enjoying a re-run on Granada Plus in the UK.

Stan gets engaged and is all set to move out, but his plans are scuppered when Arthur loses his job.

The second of the three movies, and it's a must for fans of the TV series, it translated well from sitcom to movie, not many shows managed to do it successfully, I can think of only this and Steptoe and son.

It is as you'd expect, bawdy, raucous, slapstick and a little bit cheeky, in there lies its charm, it's definitely not meant to be taken too seriously. Humour along the lines of the later Carry on films, and confessions movies.

Lots of amusing scenes, the misunderstanding about staff uniform is funny, Arthur and Olive on the out of control bike, the sabotaged radio, the foam, plenty of entertaining moments.

Cheeky postcards humour, it's enjoyable, 7/10.

If you're a fan of the series then you will adore this film, as an avid fan myself i find this to be the second best film after holiday on the buses. Some of the gags are classic, and the film feels so full that it never loses your attention. A highly recommended one to watch!