Shirley Valentine (1989)

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writers:

Willy Russell (play)
Willy Russell (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 August 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

No one thought she had the courage. The nerve. Or the lingerie.

Plot:

Shirley's a middle-aged Liverpool housewife, who finds herself talking to the wall while she prepares her husband's chip'n'egg...

Plot Keywords:

Housewife | Self Realization | Husband Wife Relationship | Liverpudlian | Greek Island

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Pauline Collins	...	Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw
Tom Conti	...	Costas
Julia McKenzie	...	Gillian
Alison Steadman	...	Jane
Joanna Lumley	...	Marjorie Majors
Sylvia Syms	...	Headmistress
Bernard Hill	...	Joe Bradshaw
George Costigan	...	Dougie
Anna Keaveney	...	Jeanette
Tracie Bennett	...	Millandra
Ken Sharrock	...	Sydney
Karen Craig	...	Thelma
Gareth Jefferson	...	Brian
Gillian Kearney	...	Young Shirley Valentine
Catharine Duncan	...	Young Marjorie Majors

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Littlewoods department store, Oxford Circus, Oxford Street, London, England, UK

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "Shirley Valentine" by Willy Russell opened at the Booth Theater in New York on February 16, 1989, ran for 324 performances and received a nominated for the 1989 Tony Award for the Best Play. Pauline Collins won the 1989 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play and recreated her stage role in the movie.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the US version of the film, when Gillian encounters Shirley choosing underwear for her holiday the phrase "garter belt" is dubbed over the words "suspender belt".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Shirley Valentine: Hiya Wall.
[to the camera]
Shirley Valentine: Well what's wrong with that? There's a woman three doors down talks to her microwave. Talking to a microwave! Wall, what's the world coming to ?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in A Handful of Summers (1991) (V)

Soundtrack:

THE GIRL WHO USED TO BE ME

Engaging and entertaining from start to finish

I certainly had no trouble relating to Shirley Valentine. In fact, in a lot of this movie, I thought she was talking straight from my head. She sees the humour in all the humdrum b.s. of life, and comes out triumphant. Excellent job by director Lewis Gilbert in adapting one-woman show into a movie that did not feel the least bit claustrophobic. Highly imaginative. I've seen it 3 times now, and will watch again the next time it's on: 10/10.