Naked Men for Hire

Film: The Full Monty
Certificate: 15
Duration: 88 mins
Year of Release: 1997
Genre: Comedy
Director(s): Peter Cattaneo
Writer(s): Simon Beaufoy
Cast: Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson , Paul Barber, Hugo Speer, William Snape, Lesley Sharp, Emily Woof, Dave Hill, Bruce Jones


Having lost his job due to the closure of the Sheffield Steel works, jack-the-lad Gaz (Robert Carlyle) is struggling to find the money to pay his ex-wife her child support payments. After witnessing the phenomenal success of the famous stripping act, The Chippendales, at a local club, he devises a plan to form his own stripping act in the search of some quick, easy money. With the help of his best friend Dave (Mark Addy), a slightly robust chap who is suffering from low self-esteem and their former foreman, Gerald (Tom Wilkinson) who is trying to make ends meet whilst not telling his wife that he no longer has a job, they set about fine tuning their stripping skills with the aid of some other misfit friends.

Out of the thousands of films I have watched, there are very few which I could honestly say I could watch every week without getting tired of them. One of these is "The Full Monty", a low budget Brit flick from 1997, which despite some significant flaws is one of the most popular films to have been made in Britain in the last 10 years. I say significant flaws, as looking at it from a purely technical aspect; it suffers from quite a simple plot, performances which would suit your average TV drama and to be totally blunt, it is not at all complex in any sense of the word. But before you think I am slagging the film off, it is the fact that "The Full Monty" is honest and simple in its approach, not trying to be anything more than a fun and amusing look at life, which makes the film so exceptionally enjoyable.

Whilst the main theme of the storyline may appear to be the journey of these unemployed men as they prepare themselves for their big performance as male strippers, you would be completely wrong if you think this is going to be on an erotic par with the likes of "Striptease" and "Showgirls". In fact the eroticism is non existent as one of the running jokes throughout the film is that this band of misfit men, ranging from the chubby to the old, are the least likely of sex symbols to make any women pay money to see getting naked. But if you look deeper underneath this covering plot, the film is made up of several individual plot lines surrounding the individuals in the group. You have Gaz who despite his apparent laziness will do anything for his son, even if it means stripping in front of a crowd of screaming women. Then you have his best friend Dave, who since being made unemployed is suffering from low-esteem which is affecting his relationship with his wife. Then on top of this you have Gerald, who is hiding the truth from his wife that he is no longer employed, whilst she is still leading an affluent life style. These are not the only plot lines, and the other remaining members of the troop also have storylines which look at depression leading to the feelings of suicide as well as homosexuality. But whilst these storylines may look quite diverse and in reality quite depressing, the film does a magnificent job of handling them in such a way that it comes across as being light hearted with out trivialising the importance of them. It is the down-to-earth, but amusing look at how unemployment affects these men which makes this films plot that little bit more enjoyable than other similar films, such as "Brassed Off".

A huge part of this films success is in the humour which dominates the film, with a decent mixture of visual and vocal jokes. Unlike some films which seem to throw gags at you left right at centre in blatant attempts to make you laugh, the humour naturally flows through out the film and not once do you feel that a scene has been contrived just in a blatant attempt to place a certain gag that the writers felt was funny. Right from the opening sequence which sees Gaz and Dave trying to steal a girder from a closed down factory, through to the now famous impromptu dance routine in the job centre queue, there is not a single scene which does not make you smile or laugh, which is quite a remarkable feat. It is no surprise that with a film which is about male stripping that we get are fair share of nob gags, but whilst some films would go over the top with crudeness "The Full Monty" manages to insert these with out offending anyone whilst still managing to raise a titter.

But it is without doubt the interesting characters and decent performances which make this film the success that it so rightly deserves to be. What also helps is that prior to the films launch, the main cast were relatively unknown allowing you to not compare them to previously performances, except for Robert Carlyle who was already famous for his performance in "Trainspotting" and Paul Barber who was a familiar face in the BBC sitcom "Only Fools and Horses". Although through the success of "The Full Monty" many of the cast have now become house hold names and regularly appear in big name films. But it is not so much who was playing the characters but the actual characters themselves, which like the film in general, are all down to earth characters with real life issues. From Gaz who is struggling with child support payments, through to Dave who is suffering from low self-esteem, each one of these characters are representative of real people that I am sure most of us can relate to. Praise should also go to the cast, who manage to also keep their performances real and whilst there are some scenes which do push the levels of reality slightly, for the majority of the film not a single performance seemed over the top or as if they were competing with each other for the limelight. In fact you get a real sense of a team effort from the stars, and I would imagine that they had plenty of fun making this movie. Also for those who enjoy "Coronation Street" watch out for a funny appearance from Bruce Jones, who plays Les Battersby in the soap, as a wannabe stripper.

I would also steep a lot of praise on director Peter Cattaneo who manages to steer away from the stereotypical approach to British films where they over play the "it's bleak up north" route. Whilst he does paint a picture of how depressing life is, he doesn't throw it in your face and only uses it to set the scene and provide the reasoning behind the men's actions. I would also steep praise on the fact that the film moves along at such an enjoyable pace, that there is not a single moment where you feel anything is being dragged out or skimmed over. Of course it would be impossible to forget about the absolutely brilliant soundtrack which includes "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer, "I'm The Leader of the Gang" by Gary Glitter, "Make me smile" by Steve Harley and most importantly the song which has become synonymous with the film "You Sexy Thing" by Hot Chocolate. This soundtrack is one of the most enjoyable I have heard in a long time and to be totally honest I often put the film on as background noise so that I can enjoy the great songs.


Despite its low budget and earthy feel, "The Full Monty" is in my opinion, on par or even better than the majority of recent British films, this is mainly down to its simple and honest approach. The main plot may not be the most complex but with the additional sub plots it is more than enough to make a decent basis for the film and is firmly based in reality. Add to this some interesting characters and decent yet simple performances and you have a very enjoyable film. But the real crowning glory to the film comes from the simple but highly amusing humour and the exceptional soundtrack. All these elements have merged together under the skill of director Peter Cattaneo to make what is in my opinion, an absolute brilliant, feel good movie. One that I would recommend to absolutely everyone.

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Lost in Transportation

Film: The Terminal
Certificate: 12
Duration: 124 mins
Year of Release: 2004
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director(s): Steven Spielberg
Writer(s): Andrew Niccol, Sacha Gervasi, Jeff Nathanson
Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Chi McBride, Diego Luna, Barry Shabaka Henley, Kumar Pallana, Zoe Saldana, Eddie Jones, Jude Ciccolella, Corey Reynolds


The Terminal is rather a strange film, it doesn't really have a strong plot, and it is more of a gentle, sometimes whimsical tale about a man who becomes stranded at JFK airport. The man in question is Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) who having come to America on a mission, which is divulged as the film progresses, finds himself in no mans land due to a coup in his homeland of Krakozia. With his country no longer recognized by America he is forced by the airports immigration department to stay at the airport for as long as it takes for him to be allowed in or return to home. But as time goes on, and having made the airport his home he becomes a permanent thorn in the side of immigration official Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) who is trying to become the next airport commissioner.

I have to admit that the whole concept of the film seems very far fetched but then sometimes life is stranger than fiction, especially when you learn that The Terminal was inspired by the true story of Merhan Nasseri, an Iranian refugee who in 1988 landed at Charles de Gaulle airport and due to the loss of paper work ended up living in the airport till 2006. Of course there are huge differences between Nasseri's real story and that which has been constructed for The Terminal but just the whole idea of having to learn to survive in such a limited world allows for some fascinating stories and indeed allows your own imagination to run riot. How would you go about sleeping, washing, paying for food and just generally surviving?

There are two themes running through the film, first of which is of course Victor's attempts to live a semi-normal life within the confines of the airports four walls, but this leads to what I would say is probably the main theme and that is his interactions with those around him. You have his relationship with Frank Dixon who prides himself on running a smooth efficient airport, but feels that Victor is a dirty mark in his otherwise clockwork running operation. The way there relationship grows with Frank becoming more and more exasperated every time that Victor manages to rise above the limitations opposed on him, whilst Victor seems to antagonise him with his honest, simple behaviour provides a lot of merriment. Then there are the relationships between Victor and the workers he meets on a daily basis and over time become an extended family. They all help to build up a very gentle story which provides the basis for the films comedy. My only negative when it comes to these relationships is the romantic storyline between Victor and flight attendant, Amelia played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. For me this not only feels slightly out of place but doesn't really add anything of significance to the film. Where as the other relationships serve a purpose and help to move the film forwards, this one just doesn't seem to do anything or really go anywhere.

My only other slight negative is the story revolving around the reason for Victor coming to America and the small tin can which is the key to it. To start with I actually liked this element to the story and it added a bit of intrigue as to why he was there and why it was so important to him that he gets out of the airport. But then when his mission is explained it feels a little weak to account for his actions. It also doesn't help that it is the reasons for coming to America which add an extra couple of scenes to the end of the film which makes it feel a little over long at 124 minutes and I would have been happier to see it end about 10 minutes earlier at a much more prominent and emotional high.

The overall feel to the film is of a light hearted comedy, for me at times very reminiscent to the works of Chaplin and to some extent Jacques Tati. The comedy feels so natural and rather than resorting to overly contrived scenes it relies mainly on everyday human interactions. The way Navorski attempts to communicate despite having a limited American vocabulary is in itself amusing, but not in a childish sense where you are laughing at him. This inability also allows the film to explore a lot of visual humour but again it is the ordinary things which make you laugh not overly contrived sequences. Watching Victor run up a flight of stairs and throw his luggage onto the adjacent upwards escalator so he can go quicker, just makes you laugh. Some times the humour does become good old fashioned slapstick, with people slipping on wet floors, or when despite having good intentions of helping someone with their luggage Victor inadvertently breaks it. But these scenes are not included just to make you laugh, they are all there to aid the story or build characters. I really cannot praise the comedy element of The Terminal enough as whilst it is overly gentle, it shows how funny a film can be without the need to go over the top with coarse jokes.

Understandably the predominant character in The Terminal is that of Viktor Navorski played By Tom Hanks. For me the casting of Hanks was spot on as very few actors these days have the ability to carry a film, especially a comedy, so convincingly on their own. Yes there are other actors and characters, but the film focuses on the character of Victor and what some may say his quirky ways. There are two things which stand out for me when you look at Hanks's performance, first of which is the accent. Now I can think of many a film where they over egg the use of a foreign accent to provide far too many contrived laughs, but here Hanks doesn't over exaggerate it and is utterly convincing as a traveller from an eastern bloc country for the entire duration of the film. The second element of his performance which stood out for me was his comic timing. Now Hanks has done his fair share of comedies, but in The Terminal he puts in a better than average performance which tips its hat to the comedy genius Charlie Chaplin. I've seen modern films where they try to integrate visual slapstick but fail because it doesn't feel natural, but here when Hanks is in full flow, you can see he is totally at home with this visual sort of humour.

Supporting performance wise the film does quite well with Stanley Tucci as Frank Ward putting in the most notable performance, turning from the antagoniser to the antagonised. The role of Frank is perfect for Tucci as he is marvellous at playing dead pan humour and he provides a good balance to Hanks's more visual humour. Other decent performances come from Barry Shabaka Henley, Diego Luna and Zoe Saldana all in minor roles but ones which help keep the film moving and provide side story lines to give the film more depth. My only negative comes to both the character of Amelia and performance of Catherine Zeta-Jones. I have already said that I think the character and storyline revolving around Amelia doesn't really add anything to the film, but I am sure part of this down to Jones's performance. Yes she looks good, and I can understand on looks alone would be enough to make Victor interested, but Jones doesn't make the character come alive and ultimately feels insignificant.

There is no doubt in my mind that a huge part of The Terminals success comes from having Steven Spielberg in control and his trust in Tom Hanks as an actor. Just watching the film I get a sense that Hanks was given a bit of a free run to explore the comedy and it is credit to Spielberg to let him do this rather than truss him up with in the confines of a regimented script. But also Spielberg gives the film a very light touch, allowing it to progress pretty much at its own speed rather than moving things along far too quickly. Add to this a sublime selection of music, from typical airport music, through to some beautiful Jazz pieces and you have a soundtrack which helps tell the films story.

When watching The Terminal don't expect to be inundated with hilarious, outrageous jokes or a sweeping drama, as it is definitely not that sort of film. What it is, is a gentle film which explores human interactions whilst mixing in some great old fashioned comedy which if you enjoy the films of Chaplin then no doubt you will gain some enjoyment from this. At 124 minutes it does start to drag towards the end but it still has just enough about it to keep you interested for its duration.

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Rumble, Young Man Rumble

Film: Ali
Certificate: 15
Duration: 156 mins
Year of Release: 2001
Genre: Biopic, Sports, Drama
Director(s): Michael Mann
Writer(s): Gregory Allen Howard (story), Stephen J. Rivele (screenplay)
Cast: Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jada Pinkett Smith, Nona Gaye


"Ali" is the biopic based on the life of legendary heavy weight boxer Muhammad Ali from the period 1964, where he clashed with the infamous Sonny Liston, through a decade to 1974 and the now famous 'Rumble in the Jungle' fight against George Foreman.

The first time I sat down to watch "Ali" I actually turned it off after about 15 minutes as it was nothing like what I expected. Not only did I expect a full biopic of his life from his early days but I also had become accustomed to the glitzy, highly polished biopics which Hollywood usually churns out and "Ali" is nothing of the sorts. Instead "Ali" concentrates solely on a turbulent ten year period in the fighter's life where he finds himself fighting for his boxing licence in the courts after refusing to go to war for America. But also, the whole film has a much rougher feel to it and at times it feels like you are watching an unedited, rough cut of a film. Saying that, I recently revisited the film and can now appreciate it fully as quite a masterful film, which although is by no means perfect, actually shows what is in my opinion a much more honest account of his life and one which doesn't need a highly polished production to deliver a powerful story.

As previously mentioned "Ali" just covers a small period of the boxer's life, but it as a period which was one of the most turbulent. The film covers in detail his conversion to Islam, his troubled personal life which saw the failure of his marriage and also his fight for the right to box after falling foul of the law when he refused the American draft. Whilst this single decade is obviously a bit of a disappointment, especially as the years prior and post this era have been just as dramatic, it allows the film to really go into significant depth of what happened. I have to admit that I wasn't around for this era and only really know about the legend from more recent appearances and also from the countless books which chronicle his life, but it is really fascinating to see the troubles he went through. One of the best things about the film is that it disperses with the usual glitz which dominates biopics and its rawness allows the whole emphasis of the film to be on the story. It must have taken a lot of courage for director Michael Mann to not only make a film about someone who is still alive but also do it in such a manner that bucks the usual trend. It's also interesting to see the depth of Ali's relationships with all those around him from Malcolm X, to other boxers and most significantly his team who helped him train. The whole film surprising manages to hit an emotional note as you see a side of Ali which was somewhat different to the public persona which many of us only know.

Of course with a film about one of the most iconic boxers of all time the film is going to have a few action sequences featuring the actual fights and training sessions. Compared to other boxing films, such as "Rocky" and "Cinderella Man", the fight scenes feel a bit under worked, but then for me they actually fitted in with the general rawness of the film. There were very few moments when it felt like a fight was overly choreographed and there were definitely no moments of over the top posing, although watching Will Smith bring alive the Ali shuffle and his general showman ship in the ring was an absolute delight. Again I feel Michael Mann has done a brilliant job of recreating these fight sequences and some of the clever camera angles he uses really makes you feel like you are in the middle of the ring getting smacked senseless. Likewise with the training sessions, they don't feel like they are a fitness DVD which is the usual case with boxing films, but are far more realistic, displaying the intensity and emotion of the moment rather than bulging biceps and quads. A lot of praise should also go to the numerous real boxers who were drafted in to play the parts of legendary boxers such as Sonny Liston and George Foreman. For men who are not trained actors they did a brilliant job of convincing me that they were the great men themselves and I am sure using these real boxers aided in making the fights more realistic.

One of the most memorable things to come out of this film is that Will Smith is more than capable of serious acting, quite a feat seeing that not only is Ali one of the most iconic sportsmen of the last century but also in the fact that he is still alive. I did wonder how effective Smith would be at playing a heavy weight boxer seeing that prior to the film he always looked slightly scrawny. But not only is his performance first rate but the amount of training he must have undertook to build his frame up to that of Ali's is impressive in its own right. When I say that not once do you feel that you are watching Will Smith perform is an understatement, it is as if Ali himself was appearing in the film. From his prowess in the ring, to his jive talking, poetic put downs of other boxers everything captured the legend of Muhammad Ali at his best. But it is not just Smith which makes this film so memorable, and performances from Jamie Foxx as well as Jon Voight really help make this such a great film. In fact I was unaware that Jon Voight actually appeared in the film as boxing commentator Howard Cossell and unless you knew this you really wouldn't recognize him. That is one of they keys to this film, even though it has some very prominent actors you never once feel that you are watching the actors but the actual men themselves. Special mention should go to Mario Van Peebles, who again I didn't realise appeared in the film, but puts in a stunning performance as Malcolm X.

If I had one real criticism of "Ali" is that at times it does drag it's feet, and at over 2 and a half hours long you do feel every moment of it. Whilst I can understand that director Michael Mann was aiming to make a different sort of biopic, one which worked on fact rather than poetic licence, it felt at times that some scenes were dragged out longer than necessary resulting in it losing some of the intensity of the drama. One such scene which although highly moving, is Ali running through the African ghettos in the lead up to the legendary 'Rumble in the Jungle', everything about it built up to a nice emotional high but then it wne ton for about 2 minutes too much. Despite this I still feel Mann has done a remarkable job of making a film which really puts you in touch with the focal character rather than attempting to woo you with Hollywood glam.


For me "Ali" is a very memorable film, one which manages to touch me no matter how many times I watch, with its raw, sometimes mean and moody production it differs from the majority of Hollywood Biopics and in doing so paints a much grittier picture than we have become accustomed to. Whilst it may not be everyone's cup of tea, it is well worth a viewing for two reasons. Firstly you learn a lot more about this Boxing legend than you would expect and also you get to witness one of Will Smith's best performances so far and one which I feel should have won him an Oscar.

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One Man and his Dog

Film: I Am Legend
Certificate: 15
Duration: 101 mins
Year of Release: 2007
Genre: Drama, Action, Thriller, Sci-fi
Director(s): Francis Lawrence
Writer(s): Mark Protosevich, Akiva Goldsman, Richard Matheson, John William Corrington, Joyce Hooper Corrington
Cast: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith, Darrell Foster, April Grace, Dash Mihok


After a miraculous cure for cancer goes drastically wrong, causing the majority of the worlds population to turn into dark seeking mutants. Colonel Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the sole survivor left in New York desperately searching for a cure to save the world whilst also saving his own ass from being killed.

I really was not sure what to expect when I watched "I am Legend" as I had only seen the trailers and not read any of the numerous reviews on it. Thankfully I was not disappointed as it mixes action, drama and excitement with a touch of unpredictability to keep you glued to the edge of your seats for the duration, and the time certainly does seem to fly by whilst you are watching it. Add to the mix one of my favourite actors, Will Smith, who really does carry this film firmly on his shoulders and you have a stunning cinematic experience.

In reality the underlying plot is nothing more than one man against a world of mutant humans which is nothing really new, but more often seen as the premise for horror movies; where as for me "I am Legend" is predominantly an action, drama with the added bonus of a fright or two. The balance between action and drama is hugely impressive with enough high energy action to satisfy those who need high pace to entertain them. Yet there is also plenty of drama and an unravelling story, which at times is quite emotional, to keep those with the need for more substance to be satisfied. Although saying that, do not expect an overly complex plot line, which requires huge amounts of concentration as you definitely won't get one.

There are also 2 other reasons why I found "I am Legend" such great entertainment. Firstly is Will Smith who manages to bring humour to the screen without detracting from the overall feel of the film. Be it moments where he berates his dog for not eating its vegetables or the conversations he has with mannequin dummies as he has no one else to speak to, these moments give the film a lighter feel which it definitely needed but at the same time giving an insight into a man who has no one to talk to. The other reason as to why I found "I am Legend" so entertaining is that it is hugely impressive. From the abandoned and vandalised New York city through to the look of the mutants, everything wows you, but in a very realistic way.

What did surprise me is that despite a few scenes, mainly flashbacks to before the cancer cure became the mutant virus, the majority of the film focuses solely on Will Smiths character and his attempts to survive. Whilst it may not be Smiths greatest performance it still shows what a talented actor he is to carry the film pretty much single-handedly. As previously mentioned he manages to lighten the mood where need be without detracting from the drama of the film. But also his ability to show emotion, despair and numerous other feelings without over egging things really makes his character exceedingly engaging. Also his interaction with his pet dog was very touching but also humorous and added a further dimension to the film.

My only sort of criticism comes from the ending, which although unexpected, not only felt slightly rushed but a little too contrived. But then was just me and probably making an ending which was less rushed would have caused the film to drag and lose its momentum, which for me was spot on.


At the end of 2006 I watched Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness" and was not disappointed, at the end of 2007 I again watch Will Smith in "I am Legend" and again I am not disappointed. Not only does "I am Legend" perfectly mix action, drama with a touch of horror, but it proves that you can create something entertaining from an unoriginal plot. If you want to watch a film which will keep you glued to your seat and entertain through out then I highly recommend seeing "I am Legend".

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Jolly hockey sticks

Film: Youngblood
Certificate: 15
Duration: 110 mins
Year of Release: 1986
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sports
Director(s): Peter Markle
Writer(s): Peter Markle, John Whitman
Cast: Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Cynthia Gibb, Ed Lauter, Jim Youngs, Eric Nesterenko, George J. Finn, Fionnula Flanagan, Keanu Reeves, Martin Donlevy


Dean Youngblood (Rob Lowe) longs to fulfill his dream of becoming a professional ice hockey star, and break away from his life on the family farm. Although he has the ability, he worries that he may not succeed and end up back on the farm like his brother Kelly (Kim Youngs), who had also tried to become a professional ice hockey star, only to return to the farm a broken man after loosing the sight in one eye. So after some cajoling and encouragement from Kelly, Dean tries out for a small team in the Canadian league, earning his position after beating Racki (George Finn) a huge violent player into the final team slot.

After suffering an embarrassing initiation from his new 'jock' team mates and an eye opening experience with his land lady, Youngblood soon provides his worth and settles into the team. All but briefly, as he finds himself on the wrong side of the team's coach, when he is caught romancing his daughter and is unfairly dumped on the bench. After he sees his friend and mentor Derek (Patrick Swayze) seriously injured by an opposing player, Youngblood looses his nerve and flees back to the farm. Where he is given a stern talking too by his brother and given a lesson in toughening up by his father, before he is sent back to the hockey team to try and make things right.

More often than not, sports movies follow the same predictable storyline that the lead role tries to make good, comes up against a seemingly unmovable opponent, feels that they're doomed never to win and then comes back to beat the opposition and be the hero of the piece. Sad to say, but Youngblood is no different to any of the other hundreds of sport based movies which fill the shelves of the shops, but saying that, I love this film. Prior to this, the only real film of any notoriety, based around the sport of Ice Hockey, was Slapshot, which focused more on the brutal side of the sport, where as Youngblood focuses on the story of a player rising to victory and conquering his fears. Along with this you have the casting of 2 Hollywood stars in lead roles before they got sucked in to making main stay Hollywood crowd pleasers.

As I have already mentioned, the main part of the plot follows a tried and tested formula which any fans of sports orientated movies such as Rocky and Cinderella Man will be more than familiar with, but as the saying goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". So with a predictable plot, is there anything extra in the story to hold your attention? Well yes, there is a romance between Youngblood and the coach's daughter, which although not entirely original, gives the film some extra depth. Plus you get the funny storyline of Youngblood getting an initiation from not only his team mates but also his randy land lady. Okay, so there is nothing breathtakingly new in any part of the story line, but fans of succeed over adversity style movies will enjoy this.

In the lead role of Dean Youngblood is a young Rob Lowe (St Elmo's Fire) who has been brilliantly cast as the young hockey star. I say brilliantly cast, because part of Youngblood's character is that he is not a rough player, who fears being seriously hurt and that is demonstrated not only by Lowe's good looks, but through some very good acting skill. Opposite him is Patrick Swayze (Dirty Dancing) as Derek his friend and ice hockey mentor. This film came in what I would call a transitional phase for Swayze, as he was moving out of low budget action flicks and the year before he reached stardom with Dirty Dancing. Although there is no serious depth to the character of Derek, Swayze comes over very convincingly not only as a sports 'jock' but also as a hockey player, as did Rob Lowe. Out of all the supporting cast, there are two which deserve a mention. Firstly there is the team's coach, Murray Chadwick played by Ed Lauter (Seabiscuit) who plays the snarling coach down to a tee. Along with this you have his daughter, Jessie, played by Cynthia Gibb (Fame - TV series) who provides the love interest for Dean, and you can honestly see the chemistry between them. Other notable appearances in the film come from Fionnula Flanagan (Waking Ned) and a very young Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) in only his third movie role.

Youngblood is directed by Peter Markle who more recently has directed episodes of CSI and Numb3rs. Although he hasn't done anything remarkable to lift this above any other similar sports film, he has delivered a film with some very good sports action sequences and some very moody effects. What is quite surprising is that the dialogue is not full of the cliché comments which usually litter sports movies, and the delivery of the dialogue comes over as very real. As the film was made in the mid 80s, it is no surprise that the soundtrack has songs from prominent bands such as Starship and Mr. Mister, which for anyone who has fond memories of the 80s is an additional bonus.


Youngblood may follow the same plot that many other more popular sports movies have followed, but it is still a very enjoyable watch. With the emphasis being on the story rather than the sports action, it has some nice touches of humour to accompany the drama. I feel that this is a much overlooked gem that is easily comparable to the much more popular sports films such as the acclaimed Rocky and the recently released The Cinderella Man. Of course this will appeal to fans of sports movies but will also appeal to fans of both Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze, as you get to see them before they really hit it big.

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Goosey Goosey Gander

Film: Father Goose
Certificate: U
Duration: 112 mins
Year of Release: 1964
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Director(s): Ralph Nelson
Writer(s): S.H. Barnett, Peter Stone, Frank Tarloff
Cast: Cary Grant, Leslie Caron, Trevor Howard, Jack Good, Sharyl Locke, Pip Sparke, Verina Greenlaw, Stephanie Berrington, Jennifer Berrington, Laurelle Felsette, Nicole Felsette


With WWII going on around him, loner Walter Eckland is forced into becoming a Japanese plane spotter amongst the South Pacific islands in return for food and more importantly alcohol. Having begrudgingly agreed to take on the mission he finds his solitary life completely turned upside down by the arrival of a French school teacher and her class to his island after becoming stranded.

With the plethora of new films hitting the big screens and DVDs every week it is quite easy to forget the films from yester year, ones which are not known for being classics but are equally good. One of my favourites which fits into this category is "Father Goose" a film from 1964 which was sadly Cary Grant's penultimate film outing. Why I like it so much is that despite being set during WWII it is a light hearted, clean, romantic comedy with a very entertaining storyline and has an even more entertaining array of performances.

As already mentioned, although "Father Goose" is set during WWII it is by no means a war movie; it is basically a comedy which focuses on the relationships between the characters, most significantly that of Walter Eckland and the French teacher, but also the interactions between Eckland and all the other characters. Where the film really works for me is the progression as the storyline is built up quite literally brick by brick. It starts off with the curmudgeonly Eckland being forced into a job he doesn't want by old friend Commander Houghton, magnificently played by Trevor Howard. This opening sets up the scene beautifully with Eckland and Houghton trying to out wit each other. Once the scene is set it adds the next brick with the introduction of the teacher, Catherine Freneau, and the school children which adds to Eckland's misery. This element of the story is really the main focus and the interactions at this point are so funny that it is at times hard to stop yourself from laughing, especially when Eckland finds himself losing out to Freneau and the school children. The film then adds a further brick and changes direction slightly, but in doing so still manages to maintain the same level of humour right up until the credits roll.

A huge part of the reason why I like "Father Goose" so much is that it is good, clean comedy with out the need for sexual innuendo, or bodily noises to make you laugh. Of course body noises and sexual innuendo were not part of movie making back in the 60s but films like "Father Goose" show that a film can still be entertaining without these. In some ways I find "Father Goose" more hilarious than many modern films as the comedy comes from the interactions between the characters. Watching Eckland become even grumpier after being kicked out of his home by Freneau is just brilliant as it is full of perfect comedy timing. But equally the banter between Eckland and Houghton constantly makes you smile as the dialogue is brilliant and the delivery is exceptional.

I won't deny that a huge part of the reason why I like "Father Goose" is the casting of Cary Grant in the lead role, one of my favourite actors from that era and before. In some ways Grant plays against type, being the unkept loner rather than the dashing bachelor he usually played, but he still manages to bring so much charm to the character that despite his grumpiness you can't but help liking him. Whilst Grant is quite rightly the star of the film, he is matched by equally good performances from Trevor Howard as Commander Houghton and Leslie Caron as Catherine Freneau. Howard plays your typical stiff upper lip British naval officer, but seems to have a strong friendship with Eckland and you get a real sense that Howard and Grant were friends off of camera as well as there scenes together seem so natural. The role of the French school teacher could be have written with Leslie Caron in mind, she is perfect as the bossy, argumentative teacher and like with Howard, the verbal sparring between Grant and herself feels so realistic. Add to this a small group of school girls who are a joy to watch as they make Eckland's life a misery and the performances are in all a joy to watch.

Of course this is not a film which will be to everyone's liking and some will find it a bit slow at times, but for the most I would say it is a joy to watch. If you are looking for a good old fashioned comedy which revolves around clean humour, rather than toilet gags then I would completely recommend "Father Goose". Plus if you want to introduce a younger audience to the comedies of yester year then I would say this would be a good starting block. Whilst it is not Cary grant's best performance it is still top notch and a joy to watch, especially on a lazy afternoon.

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