Okay, call me a hopeless romantic, but I can't help loving this medium-sized movie.
Rik Mayall departs from his usual over the top persona, and plays a fairly convincing and more serious role here as Neil, who is the victim of a cruel prank by his friends the night before his wedding. Stranded in Scarborough, Neil is desperate to get back to Maidstone in time for his wedding. Julie, the stripper hired for his bachelor party, follows him around, sometimes mocking him, sometimes taking pity on him and helping him out. Slowly the two are drawn closer together.
I remembered seeing this when I was only fifteen, by accident, just zapping from channel to channel, and stumbling on Rik Mayall's face. I was a big fan of Bottom then, so I stuck around. Don't be fooled by Rik Mayall's presence though. This story is far from a plot of a Young Ones or Bottom episode. This is actually quite a sweet story.
The true star of the piece though is without a doubt Helena Bonham-Carter. Her matter of fact portrayal of Julie ("I take me clothes off, 80 quid, I'm not cheap you know") as a tough lower-class girl who's had a rough life is great. Without her, this would have been a very dull short romantic comedy ticking all the cliché boxes. Her performance lifts the movie up to something quite memorable, and touching. She brilliantly delivers the dead-pan dialogue, and slowly she reveals a more vulnerable side of Julie, hidden underneath the tough exterior.
I suppose the filming isn't all that good, nor is the story anything more than average fare. For those reasons, I really can't bring myself to rating this as a great quality production. But even though rationally I can't really defend it, there's something about 'Dancing Queen' that makes it more than just an average TV movie. Watch it if you get a chance.
Rik Mayall departs from his usual over the top persona, and plays a fairly convincing and more serious role here as Neil, who is the victim of a cruel prank by his friends the night before his wedding. Stranded in Scarborough, Neil is desperate to get back to Maidstone in time for his wedding. Julie, the stripper hired for his bachelor party, follows him around, sometimes mocking him, sometimes taking pity on him and helping him out. Slowly the two are drawn closer together.
I remembered seeing this when I was only fifteen, by accident, just zapping from channel to channel, and stumbling on Rik Mayall's face. I was a big fan of Bottom then, so I stuck around. Don't be fooled by Rik Mayall's presence though. This story is far from a plot of a Young Ones or Bottom episode. This is actually quite a sweet story.
The true star of the piece though is without a doubt Helena Bonham-Carter. Her matter of fact portrayal of Julie ("I take me clothes off, 80 quid, I'm not cheap you know") as a tough lower-class girl who's had a rough life is great. Without her, this would have been a very dull short romantic comedy ticking all the cliché boxes. Her performance lifts the movie up to something quite memorable, and touching. She brilliantly delivers the dead-pan dialogue, and slowly she reveals a more vulnerable side of Julie, hidden underneath the tough exterior.
I suppose the filming isn't all that good, nor is the story anything more than average fare. For those reasons, I really can't bring myself to rating this as a great quality production. But even though rationally I can't really defend it, there's something about 'Dancing Queen' that makes it more than just an average TV movie. Watch it if you get a chance.