Porridge

If you love the series this is based on you won't be disappointed (unlike some other tv to film adaptations). The scriptwriters have very smartly avoided the usual trap of taking the characters that work so well on the small screen and putting them in a ridiculous situation that so many other films (like On the Buses) have done with usually poor results. The photography does have a stark realism to it (it certainly looks very cold) and the colour scheme gives the film a certain bleakness but as the film is set in and around a prison it doesn't really take anything away and won't spoil the enjoyment of watching Fletcher and co get up to their normal tricks.

The story fits in well with the characters and settings. Almost all the familiar characters from the tv show are here and having Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais write (who wrote the original tv series) write the film script keeps the continuity of characterisation and wit going. As usual Ronnie Barker totally steals every scene he is in, even against veteran character actors like Fulton Mackay and Peter Vaughan (as Grouty). The whole thing is an almost seemless transition from tv to silver screen with some wonderful funny dialogue and charming supporting actors thrown in (including a very young Daniel Peacock as a newly incarcerated inmate).

There is a sadness knowing that Richard Beckinsale passed away at the ridiculously young age of 31 just weeks after filming wrapped but at least the film doesn't dishonour his memory. As a swansong to him and as an adaptation to probably Ronnie Barker's most beloved character this film doesn't disappoint, even if the tv series is still marginally superior.

Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais seized the opportunity the 1970s genre of British sitcom movies offered. they took it, few other scriptwriters did. This was, namely, the chance to do on the silver screen what they could not do on prime-time BBC.

Lovable caricatures are subtly toned down here - Fletcher begins with the persona from the sitcom then changes. The quipping, upbeat Fletcher is revealed as a mask for the born loser/survivor he truly is.

The opening scenes where new character 'Grudge', a new, young inmate, is booked in and led around by the wardens could easily have been taken from John McKenzie's 'A Sense of Freedom'. Mckay, too, is deftly rendered a touch more three-dimensional. His mantra bemoaning the inmates' status as lower than normal people betrays his true feelings.

Peter Vaughan's Kray-like 'Grout' again all but turns to the camera and says "That's a cartoon version of me on the telly - I'm really a nasty piece of work'. The film very subtly does that which recent Brit comedy-turned-movie 'The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse' deliberately attempted - the creation of real-world versions, far less comfortable versions, of the stalwart caricatures of the TV show's pantheon.

Porridge concerns the lives of a group of prison inmates. The brilliant Ronnie Barker plays Fletch, cheeky, good-natured, optimistic, quick-witted and able to handle all the little foibles of the other prisoners and guards to his advantage. Think of an Ivan Denisovich without the Siberian background. The trouble begins when Mr Grout, an aristocratic crime boss at the top of the prison hierarchy, 'requests' Fletch to suggest to the guards a celebrity football match, where a team of famous faces will play a team of prisoners.

Never having seen the Porridge TV-series, I can't comment on any differences or similarities. However, it is hard to top the quality of this little comedy. The script is an excellent mix of character, witty word-play, amusing plot and some physical comedy, done in a way that only the British seem to do so competently. The situations in the prison are believable, and even the minor parts are well-rounded characters. Almost every other line contains some memorable gag. Some examples "Beware of him. He's known as the butcher of Slade Prison." "What did he do?" "Fiddled the VAT on some sausages." And then there's: "What's a peccadillo?" "South African bird that flies backwards to keep the sand out of its eyes." "No, that's not it. But I know what you're thinking of. That's called an armour-dildo." Oh, and how about that scene of the governor losing his self-respect and teeth in a huge pot of curry?

A brilliantly written and well-acted comedy. Highly recommended.

Starts off as good as a TV episode, but the laughs fade towards the end, the escape is all a bit silly and too contrived. As usual, some great one-liners from Barker and 'Grouty' remains one of the most threatening characters you'll ever meet in a comedy!

If you're going to make a film of Porridge, this is it. The nature of film demands a "big" storyline, and what could be bigger than the plot of this?

Some people have said that the film doesn't quite have the same zest as the series. That is true - but then it goes to show how amazing the series was, because this is one heck of a good film.

It has also been said that the plot (which I won't give away for people who haven't seen it) is weak. Here I disagree. The only minus point I have about the plot is the fact that the subplot about new arrival Rudge disappears about 2/3 of the way in. As for the main plot, see above. It's the only story you could do when making a film of Porridge!

OK, so the pace of the film is a little slow - BUT you must remember that some people watching the film aren't familiar with the TV series, so they had to set the scene first.

They could easily have re-used hundreds of scenes and lines from the series, but to their credit, they didn't - both Fletch and Godber are nearing the end of their stretches, and they brought in a new "first-offender", the aforementioned Rudge - that way, Fletch is able to dish out a little bit of advice to him the way he did to Godber in the series - again, to ease in "first time" Porridge-viewers.

When you consider the number of TV sitcoms that were adapted for the big screen, and how much the quality varied, the good ones stand out all the more. And this is one of the best.