Ready When You Are Mr. McGill (2003) (TV)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Paul Seed

Writer:

Jack Rosenthal (writer)

Release Date:

2003 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An extra in a TV drama is finally given a line to say. He goes on to cause mounting chaos. |

Cast

Mike Hayley	...	Henry
Amanda Holden	...	Herself
Tom Courtenay	...	Joe McGill
Sandra Voe	...	Nancy McGill
Paul Butterworth	...	Milkman
Tamsin Greig	...	Lianne
Ben Whishaw	...	Bruno
Sally Phillips	...	Kelly
Bill Nighy	...	Phil Parish
Philip Davis	...	Denis
Sam Kelly	...	Edgar
Stewart Wright	...	Geoff
Paul Broughton	...	Tommy
Gemma Catlin	...	Alison
Claudie Blakley	...	Deirdre

Runtime:

Brazil:95 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Netherlands:6

Filming Locations:

Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Universal Television

Quotes:

[after a disastrous morning, the producer asks the director how much of this morning's filming he has actually completed]
Roland: So you've shot *nothing* all morning?
Phil Parish: Not yet.
Roland: Nothing of Scene 23?
Phil Parish: Not yet.
Roland: None of it?
Phil Parish: Not yet.
Roland: You've shot the master shot? You must have.
Phil Parish: [to Kelly] Tell him "not yet". I can't say it again - my brain's trapped.
Roland: So what the hell have you been doing?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Remake of "Red Letter Day: Ready When You Are, Mr. McGill (#1.1)" (1976)

Soundtrack:

GOOD LOVE

Don't miss this one!

Another little British gem. Maybe I should have given it a ten, but almost nothing deserves a ten. Well, maybe Lord of the Rings. This is a very funny, very realistic film about everything that can go wrong and does while filming a TV show. Behind all that glamour and slickness you've got poor Bill Nighy, the director, trying to satisfy the producers and the writer and actually get this one scene filmed. And Tom Courtenay, a bit player who only has one line to say: a whole sixteen words he's been memorizing in his sleep. Both performances are superb, as are all the performances in the film. It is very funny, eccentric as only British film can be, and very realistic. I would recommend this film very highly, especially to those who are very critical of films without realising just what goes on behind the scenes. One of my kids works in film, and has told me what amount to horror stories about how difficult and frustrating doing a shoot can be. So while this film is really very funny, and a very good example of Murphy's Law, it is also realistic.