Lucky Break

Lucky break is stupid. In fact, so stupid it's reasonably laughable. But it's also entertaining. Very entertaining. Filled with great comic sketches, as well as heart-touching moments, this film is definitely worth £3.50 and a bag of extra-large popcorn.

Starting off, two men are arrested, and put into jail, which they find very uncomfortable. They want out. So they hatch a ludicrous scheme that just couldn't work...or could it? Some good acting (espcially by Timothy Spall) leads this film well on it's way to the thumbs up. Funny, touching and hugely, hugely enjoyable, Lucky break should be just the antidote to a long, stressful day.

Overall: **** out of ***** (4 out of 5)

Please stop comparing this film to The Full Monty. The comparison is irrelevant. It is not, and never intends to be, a sequel to Monty.

Please do have a look at this film as it is, actually, very good, with some well observed and interesting performances. Some reviews on here give the impression the film is unfunny. Not so. It works well as a light comedy/romance.

Worth seeing too as an example of good British cinema. I wonder what Hollywood would have done with the script..? (On second thought... Let's not go there).

Well done (again) Film Four.

Repeat-offender Jimmy (James Nesbitt) finds himself doing time after a botched bank job. When the prison warden (Christopher Plummer), an aspiring playwright, proposes that the prison put on a production of his musical, Jimmy and his fellow inmates plan to use the performance as a diversion while they make a get away. Things get complicated, however, when Jimmy falls for the prison's psychologist, Annabel (Olivia Williams). This entertaining black comedy carries some good acting and a marvelously understated sense of humor. The warden's musical, based on the swashbuckling life of Viscount Horatio Nelson, is about as lavish as an elementary school production, and wonderfully dreadful to boot. Although a bit slow at times, patient viewers will find themselves rewarded.

LUCKY BREAK is Peter Cattaneo's follow-up to his hugely successful 1997 comedy THE FULL MONTY, which I thought was great. Unfortunately his second stint behind the camera isn't half as successful. The main problem with this comedy is simple: it's not funny enough. Yes, there's a few chuckles but my sides definitely weren't split... they weren't even creased.

James Nesbitt, from TV's Cold Feet (in the UK), is full of cheeky Irish charm but I didn't think he cut it as a leading man. He's great on TV, but he lacked something on the big screen. The love interest is provided by the lovely Olivia Williams, who plays the same same sort of role she's done before, and is fine again here. Christopher Plummer plays the Prison's Governor and it's always good to see him even if the film's not that great. The rest of the inmates were pretty good, with Bill Nighy's scene-stealing poncey Roger as the standout.

Storywise it hit all the right notes but, as I'd said, wasn't nearly funny enough. There are echoes of MONTY throughout but the production put on by the inmates at the end of the film didn't work nearly as well as the MONTY finale. So, overall I'd say it was a bit of a disappointment, which is a bit of a shame.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this romp of nonsense. In fact, we're still singing that crazy "Four Months at Sea" song and laughing about it. Sure, it is improbable, but the actors are obviously having fun, making it such a pleasure to watch. Imagine a bunch of no-talent prisoners attempting a musical to "please" their warden (and escape)? Can they pull it off without killing themselves laughing at their ridiculousness? That's entirely debatable. The songs are catchy, the casting of the musical characters (think con-jobs) hilarious, the costumes.... well, see for yourself. This is one film we are planning to buy and keep. Just what is needed when stuck in lousy winter weather.