Due to quaint English customs and archaic class rules, Sir Charles Bunbury (Kelsey Grammar), by dint of marriage to the only would be heir of Tuftons bank, Penelope (a wonderfully caustic Tamsin Greig) who cannot take on the role, because she is a woman, is chairman of Tuftons bank.
Having literally married into money, Charles has not the slightest inkling as to what he is supposed to do as chairman, nor how banking works. Though a stable institution, Tuftons is seen as ripe for a takeover by smarmy US businessman Richard Grinding (John Michael Higgins) and there is also interest from an honourable Japanese bank, led by the ambitious Nakamura (Togo Igawa).
When Charles supposed right hand man, the slick trader Nick (Matthew Horne) advises him to invest in 'a sure thing' oil stock, Charles, seeing an easy way to ease pressure on the bank and himself, ignores caution and better advise from the quantitative analyst Graham (Danny Morgan) and goes ahead, buying heavily. Unsurprisingly, things do not go well. Not only does he break the bank, but in trying to impress his long suffering wife with his banking acumen, he manages to lose her money as well. Charles finds himself not only ousted from the bank, but his now estranged wife, throws him out. Their daughter, Annabel (Sonya Cassidy), who has turned her bank on her family wealth and lives in a squat with her boyfriend Twig (Gabriel Freilich), does not want anything to do with him either.
Seeing no point in going on, Charles stands on the wall of the Embankment, looking to the Thames river, ready to end his life. He is interrupted by Oscar (Pearce Quigley), a vagrant, who points out that him committing suicide in that area would be bad for his 'patch'. Not completely committed to ending his life at that moment, Charles and Oscar become friends.
In Charles' absence, Richard, having taken control of Tuftons, makes moves on Penelope. With a full on charm offensive, he tries to persuade her to join him in a capacity at the bank, the price of her joining would be her shares in the bank, thus giving him the controlling interest. Learning of Richard's plan, Charles determines to not only thwart his plan, but also to regain control of the bank and his life.
Breaking The Bank is a nicely paced and well acted comedy. Kelsey Grammar as the bumbling Sir Charles is perfectly cast, believable as the inept chairman, who somehow lucked his way into a privileged life. Tamsin Greig as Penelope gets most of the best lines in the film, especially at the expense of the scheming Richard Grinding, whom John Michael Higgins keeps the right side of hammy. An ever reliable comedic actor, she manages to combine anger, apathy, disdain and fear, whilst still staying on the right side of funny. Pearce Quigley, as Oscar, is the other prominent character in the film, the down-on-his-luck vagrant, whose sharp mind is obscured by muddle ranting of claims to have invented the most random of things.
This threesome make up the heart of the film, ably supported by a great cast and easy to follow story. Breaking The Bank is an enjoyable romp worth one hundred minutes of your time.
Having literally married into money, Charles has not the slightest inkling as to what he is supposed to do as chairman, nor how banking works. Though a stable institution, Tuftons is seen as ripe for a takeover by smarmy US businessman Richard Grinding (John Michael Higgins) and there is also interest from an honourable Japanese bank, led by the ambitious Nakamura (Togo Igawa).
When Charles supposed right hand man, the slick trader Nick (Matthew Horne) advises him to invest in 'a sure thing' oil stock, Charles, seeing an easy way to ease pressure on the bank and himself, ignores caution and better advise from the quantitative analyst Graham (Danny Morgan) and goes ahead, buying heavily. Unsurprisingly, things do not go well. Not only does he break the bank, but in trying to impress his long suffering wife with his banking acumen, he manages to lose her money as well. Charles finds himself not only ousted from the bank, but his now estranged wife, throws him out. Their daughter, Annabel (Sonya Cassidy), who has turned her bank on her family wealth and lives in a squat with her boyfriend Twig (Gabriel Freilich), does not want anything to do with him either.
Seeing no point in going on, Charles stands on the wall of the Embankment, looking to the Thames river, ready to end his life. He is interrupted by Oscar (Pearce Quigley), a vagrant, who points out that him committing suicide in that area would be bad for his 'patch'. Not completely committed to ending his life at that moment, Charles and Oscar become friends.
In Charles' absence, Richard, having taken control of Tuftons, makes moves on Penelope. With a full on charm offensive, he tries to persuade her to join him in a capacity at the bank, the price of her joining would be her shares in the bank, thus giving him the controlling interest. Learning of Richard's plan, Charles determines to not only thwart his plan, but also to regain control of the bank and his life.
Breaking The Bank is a nicely paced and well acted comedy. Kelsey Grammar as the bumbling Sir Charles is perfectly cast, believable as the inept chairman, who somehow lucked his way into a privileged life. Tamsin Greig as Penelope gets most of the best lines in the film, especially at the expense of the scheming Richard Grinding, whom John Michael Higgins keeps the right side of hammy. An ever reliable comedic actor, she manages to combine anger, apathy, disdain and fear, whilst still staying on the right side of funny. Pearce Quigley, as Oscar, is the other prominent character in the film, the down-on-his-luck vagrant, whose sharp mind is obscured by muddle ranting of claims to have invented the most random of things.
This threesome make up the heart of the film, ably supported by a great cast and easy to follow story. Breaking The Bank is an enjoyable romp worth one hundred minutes of your time.