Benson and Hedges, who are they? (Mike Bassett: England Manager (DVD))

Member Name: thehud

Product:	Mike Bassett: England Manager (DVD)
Date:	17/11/02 (211 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Dead funny

Disadvantages: None really

Graham Taylor was one of the worst appointments of all time as England manager. After making his name as a bright young manager who relied on route one football with Lincoln City and Watford, he secured the job as Aston Villa boss and made them a decent first division outfit. He did enough in that job to convince the powers at be at the Football Association that he was the man to take charge of the England international team when Bobby Robson decided to return to club football after a hugely successful World Cup tournament in 1990 when Gazza inspired the team to the semi finals, before a heart breaking penalty defeat to Germany.

Taylor was unsuccessful in his time in charge, and was cruelly dubbed Turnip following England's dismal showings at the European Championships in 1992. Worse was to follow and the qualification programme for the 1994 World Cup was a chaotic and depressing experience. If you ever saw the documentary film which recorded that campaign, you could not have failed to be moved by the frustration on the face of Taylor as refereeing decisions cost his team the points against Holland. An exasperated Taylor moaned at the fourth official that "Your mate has just cost me my job. Thank you very much."

That documentary was an insightful and dramatic piece of television and absorbing stuff, even for those who do not love football. The sight of Taylor and his managerial team of Lawrie McMenemy and Phil Neal, bumbling through the job, mouthing inanities and screaming like navvies was classic.

Mike Bassett - England Manager was based loosely on the story of Taylor, parodying expertly that bewildered and bewildering management team, with Ricky Tomlinson, Philip Jackson and Bradley Walsh spectacularly good depictions of the Taylor-McMenemy-Neal axis. However, it is far more wide ranging and cruel in its focus, effectively poking fun at all the worst excesses of English international football, and doing so in such
a sympathetic and good natured way that you cannot fail to fall in love with it.

Tomlinson plays Mike Bassett, the manager of Norwich City who rose to f'ame' as a workmanlike professional in the lower divisions. The early interview with his wife, played slyly by the wonderful Amanda Redman features flashback photos of Tomlinson with all manner of appalling haircuts in his playing days. It's touches like this which really makes this film so wonderfully watchable.

It's set up as a staged documentary of Bassett's totally unexpected appointment as England manager and the disasters that befall his team during the World Cup finals in Brazil. The film is skilfully designed and steered and the emphasis is always on humour, although at times it borders on the edge of tragedy as Bassett's life falls apart as the performances of his team woefully disintegrate.

To really get the most out of the film, and appreciate the jokes fully, you have to understand football and the lack of brains in most footballers, but whether you are a fan of The Beautiful Game or not, you will find it a wonderfully funny movie, with Tomlinson a gripping and hugely wonderful star turn.

He's an old style football manager, who relies on gut instinct and spirit, traditional English quality, and a simple approach to tactics. In many ways, Mike Bassett is closer to the bumbling and incoherent Jack Charlton as Ireland manager than Graham Taylor, and there's one particular set piece which demonstrates this perfectly. When Bassett's squad assembles for an important international there are two players named from lower division clubs whom Bassett knows he didn't pick. The irate secretary swears that she took down the details accurately from Bassett's notes and shows him. When you realise the players are called Benson and Hedges and that Bassett wrote his squad down on a fag packet, you understand EXACTLY what's happened.
Hugely delicious laughs!

That moment captures Mike Bassett exactly and is just one of a whole array of set pieces with Tomlinson almost ever present in the best scenes.

Good sports movies capture your imagination and draw you into them and this film is no different from the very best such examples. It's an absolute dream and quite simply mandatory viewing.

Summary: