| Product: |
Blackball (DVD) |
| Date: |
12/10/04 (134 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Very Funny
Disadvantages: None
I remember seeing a couple of trailers for this film when it was released in the cinema and not being overly impressed with them. They didn’t inspire me to see this film on the big screen anyway so it was left to one night in the video shop before I finally decided to take the plunge and give it a chance. It was not something I came to regret.
** Overview **
Lawn bowling is taken very seriously in Torquay. Ray Speight is the reigning champion, and has been for over 20 years. Ray is posh and snobby, looking down on ‘lesser’ people. He has a very traditional view to lawn bowls and believes that the lesser classes should not play it. Cliff Starkey is a ‘lesser’ person from the wrong estate on the wrong side of town. He is young, rebellious and encapsulates everything Ray hates about the world. Cliff is however very good at lawn bowls and he has ideas of winning the title off Ray in the up-coming annual competition. Ray will not lose his title easily though and will use almost any tactic available to prevent the rise of Cliff.
Thanks to Cliff’s “bad boy” image and success lawn bowls starts to become a spectator sport for the British public. This infuriates Ray further as his traditional views favour a quieter more respectable game. Relations between Ray and Cliff are strained further thanks to Cliff’s relationship with Ray’s daughter. Ray does not believe that Cliff is good enough to be involved with his daughter and attempts to prevent his involvement with her.
Can Cliff handle the fame he suddenly has or will it all be too much for him?
** Main Characters **
Cliff Starkey – played by Paul Kaye is a young rebellious lad who has grown up watching his grandfather playing lawn bowls. Through many hours watching he has learnt to play and is now eager to shake up the world of lawn bowls.
Ray Speight – played by James Cromwell is the reigning champion at Torquay lawn bowls club and will do almost anything to retain his title. He hates Cliff because of his background and is determined to beat him anyway he can.
Kerry Speight – played by Alice Evans is the daughter of Ray. She becomes attached to Cliff and is soon his girlfriend. Caught between these two sportsmen, she has to try and keep the peace.
Trevor - played by Johnny Vegas is Cliff’s best friend. He and Cliff have been through thick and thin and they have always been there for each other. He will support Cliff till the end.
Rick Schwartz - played by Vince Vaughn is Cliff’s agent trying to cash in on the sudden popularity in the world of lawn bowling.
** My Opinion **
I admit that when I first thought of a film about lawn bowling, funny was not one of the first words to jump into my head. In fact had I not heard good things about this film I think it is safe to say that I wouldn’t have bothered watching it at all. Friends had told me that this film was funny and worth watching and while I wasn’t convinced I was curious enough to watch it.
I think the first thing to say about this film is that is it very funny. I was unsure about how funny it was possible to make a film about lawn bowling but this film exceeded even my most optimistic expectations. There is a good mix of humour throughout this film. There are comic references to other films that are light hearted and well executed. There have been lots of previous films that have taken this idea to the extreme and spoilt it. Blackball manages to find a nice balance when using this humour and manages to carry it off well. For example, Cliff comes onto the lawn in the style of Rocky entering the boxing ring for one of his matches with Ray. It is the sort of thing that could have gone terribly wrong but Kaye had developed the character well enough for it to be funny rather than plain cheesy.
Although there are very few household names in this film (Johnny Vegas and James Cromwell were the only two I had heard off prior to seeing this film) the acting is surprisingly good. James Cromwell does brilliantly as the old guy set in his ways, looking down on the youth from the wrong estate. Johnny Vegas is also fantastic in this film. Although not a major character in the film he does well at breaking up the more emotional and touching parts of the film with his own brand of humour. Kaye does very well as Cliff adding a real bad boy feel to the character, which makes the storyline more feasible.
The storyline is good and well thought out. It is not a complex plot but there are no lows in the story really with the pace and depth being maintained throughout. The characters are well developed throughout the film giving the film some emotional depth in addition to the humour.
I found this film highly entertaining and will be recommending it to everyone who hasn’t seen it. It is a very simple story that leads you from one laugh to another. Probably the best British comedy I have seen. Go and see it.
Thanks for reading
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