A Review of Approval! (A Chorus Of Disapproval (DVD))

Member Name: kingfisher111

Product:	A Chorus Of Disapproval (DVD)
Date:	01/09/09 (142 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fun film

Disadvantages: none

A Chorus of Disapproval is a play written by Alan Ayckbourn who is one of my favourite playwrights. This play also has a special place in my heart as my husband and I actually met at our local amateur dramatic group and this was one of the first plays we were in together. He played Dafydd Ap Llewellyn and I took the part of Fay Hubbard (more about these characters later). I was recently browsing on play.com and I spotted the DVD of the film of the same name made in 1988 and I decided to buy it and take a trip down Memory Lane.

The film was directed by Michael Winner and the screenplay was by Alan Ayckbourn so it is very true to the original script. It tells the story of a young man called Guy Jones who moves to Scarborough from Leeds after the death of his wife. He spots a notice in the local newspaper about auditions for the local choral society's production of The Beggar's Opera and decides to give it a go. There he meets a wild assortment of characters and before he knows what has happened, not only has he got a part in the show but he is also caught up in all their lives. He becomes a bit of a love object for a couple of the women and because of his job, some of the men think he might prove useful in helping to further their own interests.

Alongside this, the director, Dafydd, is upsetting everyone in sight in his attempts to stage the show. At the beginning of the film, they are weeks into rehearsal and they have only got to about page ten in the script. One thing that I really like about both the film and the play is the way that the real storyline is merged in with the rehearsals and also snippets from The Beggar's Opera. It is a very funny film and at times, farcical. The best thing about it is the wonderful characterisation which makes Ayckbourn such a master of the craft so I am going to attempt to give a taste of this wonderful array of characters.

Firstly there is Guy Jones who is played by Jeremy Irons. Although his is the central character, he is more the sort of person that things happen to rather than being the one who causes things to happen. He is happy to go along with things which is probably why he ends up in quite a bit of trouble one way or another. He is the sort of character who you will either feel sorry for or think that he deserves everything that happens to him!

Dafydd Ap Llewellyn is played brilliantly by Anthony Hopkins. He is a self opinionated, loud, bumptious, over the top Welshman who is used to getting his own way all the time. He say exactly what he thinks and does not care who he upsets in the process and I can't imagine that he has ever heard of the term 'political correctness!' It is a wonderful caricature of the type of person who is full of his own self importance. He is married to Hannah (Prunella Scales) who appears quite mouse like in comparison to her larger than life husband. She is actually quite unhappy, especially in her marriage but allows herself to be treated like a doormat. She also spends much of her time trying to apologise for her husband's appalling behaviour!

Ian and Fay Hubbard (Gareth Hunt and Jenny Seagrove) are a flash married couple. They are both interested in Guy for different reasons and there is a hilarious scene when they invite him and a partner for dinner. Guy does not realise that they have more than dinner in mind as they are looking for a 'swinging' time. He brings a very elderly neighbour which comes as a big surprise for Ian and this scene is full of hilarious misunderstandings.

Probably my favourite characters are Ted and Enid Washbrook (Richard Briers and Barbara Ferris). They are really mousy and wouldn't say boo to a goose and Ted unfortunately has the habit of always being in the wrong place at the wrong time during rehearsals much to Daffyd's annoyance. He is also the one who is most often the victim of Daffyd's vicious tongue. Enid is very defensive of Ted but together they present quite a pathetic but funny pair.

In contrast we also meet Jarvis and Rebecca Huntley-Pike (Lionel Jefferies and Sylvia Sims). AS the name probably suggests they are quite well to do and Jarvis is a big shot business man - also interested in Guy for unethical motives concerning a piece of land. They are both loud, posh and extremely self assured.

There are some younger characters as well. Linda Washbrook (Patsy Kensett) who is Ted and Enid's daughter and she causes them a great deal of worry. There is also her boyfriend Crispin (Pete Lee- Wilson) and the local publican's daughter Bridget (Alexander PIgg). These three cause a certain amount of mayhem much to the consternation of the older members of the group!

It is this wonderful set of characters that really make this such an absorbing and enjoyable film. You can also see from the actors mentioned that pretty much all of the parts are played by some of the best British actors around at the time.

I was really interested to see how well the stage play transferred to the screen and on the whole I think that it works very well. There are some little extra scenes added which can only be hinted at on stage and also as well there are some additional minor characters introduced to. On the whole though, the film does remain very true to the play and this is probably due to the fact that Ayckbourn wrote both. Certainly, the dialogue is pretty much word for word throughout. The film does feel a bit dated as it was made in 1988 and you obviously notice things like people smoking in pubs.

I really enjoyed watching this film and I'm sure it will go down well with most Ayckbourn fans. Having said that though there is nothing quite like live theatre and I do think that if given the choice, I would prefer to watch the play rather than the film.

It is a PG with a running time of 95 minutes. The DVD is available on Amazon for only £2.98!

Summary: A very enjoyable film