This play is somewhat in the John Cleese Chaos mold of film making where a seemingly minor "glitch" in the vainglorious life of its subject multiplies in to ever greater disasters and the more the victim intervenes to fix the disasters the worse he makes them. In this film the egocentric executive who cares nothing of other people finds by tribulation that his world is falling apart and no one or nothing can help him. The film has some hilarious moments and the plot becomes increasingly bizarre and for good reason as their is an unexpected twist at the end that explains the increasing incongruity of the action. One wonders if M Knight Shyamalan learned a few tricks from this film wink wink
4 Reviews
Imagine if Basil Fawlty had a chat show, and Sybil left him.
Sleepin_Dragon24 April 2024
Obnoxious TV presenter George Grant is used to having everything his own way, but his life spirals out of control when his wife Sally gives him the news that she's leaving him.
Peter Bowles is marvellous in this bawdy, disaster comedy, did he perhaps base George on Basil Fawlty? This instantly made me think of episode 'Gourmet Night,' it has that madcap, breathless vibe, it's almost exhausting to watch.
George is a monster, it's amusing to see him brought down to Earth, best scene, the taxi moment, Renée Asherson is glorious as the old lady passenger, a scene where he finally seems to wake up.
I had this pre conceived idea, that the whole of the Screen 2 series was straight up, serious drama, I'd forgotten that some of them were comedies.
8/10.
Peter Bowles is marvellous in this bawdy, disaster comedy, did he perhaps base George on Basil Fawlty? This instantly made me think of episode 'Gourmet Night,' it has that madcap, breathless vibe, it's almost exhausting to watch.
George is a monster, it's amusing to see him brought down to Earth, best scene, the taxi moment, Renée Asherson is glorious as the old lady passenger, a scene where he finally seems to wake up.
I had this pre conceived idea, that the whole of the Screen 2 series was straight up, serious drama, I'd forgotten that some of them were comedies.
8/10.
A Great Telemovie
eoin-1414 January 2007
Peter Bowles at his best and a great story with a bizarre twist at the end! Bowles plays the part of a TV station executive that, due to his pressure cooker career and lifestyle, is always running late. I can't believe that this movie hasn't been released on VHS or DVD as the story is timeless and probably more relevant now as our lives are even busier than they were in 1992 when Running Late was made. The BBC allowed the Australian Broadcasting Commission to show Running Late a couple of times on TV in Oz then it was returned to England. I have searched in vain for 10 years to purchase a copy of this movie... does anyone out there know where I could get a copy on DVD?
Excellent, quirky British telemovie
sccbill4 June 2019
The story arc for running late has been subsequently copied in several movies and telemovies. It's a great pity that this series is not available for purchase on DVD, or any other medium.
The episode has recently been made available on YouTube.
The episode has recently been made available on YouTube.
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