Lucky Break (2001)

Under the leadership of a small-time bank robber, British inmates hatch a plan to escape by staging a musical.

Director:

Peter Cattaneo

Writers:

Ronan Bennett (screenplay), Stephen Fry (book)

Stars:

James Nesbitt, Olivia Williams, Ron Cook

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Nesbitt	...	James 'Jimmy' Hands / Lord Nelson in Show
Olivia Williams	...	Annabel Sweep / Lady Hamilton in Show
Timothy Spall	...	Cliff Gumbell
Bill Nighy	...	Roger 'Rog' Chamberlain / King George III in Show
Lennie James	...	Rudy 'Rud' Guscott / Hardy in Show
Ron Cook	...	Mr. Perry, the Guard
Frank Harper	...	John Toombes
Raymond Waring	...	Darren
Christopher Plummer	...	Graham Mortimer
Julian Barratt	...	Paul Dean
Peter Wight	...	Officer George Barratt
Celia Imrie	...	Amy Chamberlain
Peter McNamara	...	Ward
Andy Linden	...	Kenny
Ram John Holder	...	Old Billy Morris

Storyline

Half-way through his 12-year prison sentence for an incompetent armed robbery, Jimmy Hands gets a lucky break: he's transferred to a prison from which he can probably escape. He convinces the governor to stage a musical in an old chapel next to the prison's outer wall. He rounds up volunteer actors and puts his escape plan into production. Two other barriers, besides the wall, confront him: the arrival of a nasty inmate, John Toombes, who insists on joining the escape, and Jimmy's feelings of attraction for Anabel, a social worker who agrees to appear in the play. Opening night approaches: is this Jimmy's breakout performance?

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Plot Keywords:

escape | prison | lord horatio nelson | convict | anger management | 

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Taglines:

An escapist comedy from the director of "The Full Monty"

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax/Paramount [us] - synopsis, cast, trailer, stills (Flash)

Country:

UK Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Our Lucky Break

Filming Locations:

Devon, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$7,495 (USA) (5 April 2002)

Gross:

$54,606 (USA) (7 June 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmFour, Fragile Films, Lucky Break Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Roger 'Rog' Chamberlain: I understand you fellas have lost interest in long-term imprisonment.

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Crazy Credits

During the credits we are shown what happens to the escapees, the security guard, and the warden, along with a short piano song by Cliff.

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Connections

References South Pacific (1958)

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Soundtracks

"Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)"
(1950)
Written by Herb Magidson and Carl Sigman
© Magidson Music Co. Inc./Edwin H. Morris & Co., Inc.
By kind permission of Warner/Chapell Music Ltd.
Performed by Prince Buster

User Reviews

A Half Monty: a bit of a disappointment...

LUCKY BREAK is Peter Cattaneo's follow-up to his hugely successful 1997 comedy THE FULL MONTY, which I thought was great. Unfortunately his second stint behind the camera isn't half as successful. The main problem with this comedy is simple: it's not funny enough. Yes, there's a few chuckles but my sides definitely weren't split... they weren't even creased.

James Nesbitt, from TV's Cold Feet (in the UK), is full of cheeky Irish charm but I didn't think he cut it as a leading man. He's great on TV, but he lacked something on the big screen. The love interest is provided by the lovely Olivia Williams, who plays the same same sort of role she's done before, and is fine again here. Christopher Plummer plays the Prison's Governor and it's always good to see him even if the film's not that great. The rest of the inmates were pretty good, with Bill Nighy's scene-stealing poncey Roger as the standout.

Storywise it hit all the right notes but, as I'd said, wasn't nearly funny enough. There are echoes of MONTY throughout but the production put on by the inmates at the end of the film didn't work nearly as well as the MONTY finale. So, overall I'd say it was a bit of a disappointment, which is a bit of a shame.