Sixty Six (2006)

Director:

Paul Weiland

Writers:

Peter Straughan (screenplay) &
Bridget O'Connor (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 November 2006 (UK)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

It was Bernie's big day, but there was a little competition.

Plot:

A boy's barmitzvah looks set to be a disaster when it coincides with the 1966 World Cup Final. |

Plot Keywords:

World Cup | 1960s | Doctor | Bar Mitzvah | Year In Title

Cast

Helena Bonham Carter	...	Esther Reubens
Eddie Marsan	...	Manny Reubens
Gregg Sulkin	...	Bernie Reubens
Thomas Drewson	...	Terry Shivers
Matt Bardock	...	Mr. Grieg
Alex Black	...	Linton
Cameron Crighton	...	Captain
Catherine Tate	...	Aunt Lila
Peter Serafinowicz	...	Uncle Jimmy / Mr. Rubens Snr. / Football Commentary
Charlie Clark	...	Boy with Caliper
Nick Shrim	...	Michael Hempel
Francine Simmons	...	Lady at Door
Martin Savage	...	Senior Doctor
Ony Uhiara	...	Nurse
Charles Ferber	...	Student Doctor

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, some sexual content and brief nudity.

Runtime:

UK:93 min | USA:93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, England, UK

Company:

Universal Pictures

Goofs:

Anachronisms: To demonstrate his hatred of the England football team, Bernie throws darts at a photograph of the players in their red shirts midway through the competition. However, the photo in question was taken after the final was played. Furthermore, in relation to the film's timescale, when the scene takes place neither the team or the choice of kit had been decided upon.

Movie Connections:

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

Slow start, exciting finish. Thoughtful and nice 'slice of life' family portrait

I like all kinds of movies, and this quiet, thoughtful, 'homemade' kind of Brit-flick was enjoyable. There's not much of a plot--- a kid's approaching bar mitzvahs happens to fall on the same day as the 1966 soccer World Cup Final match. That scheduling conflict means no one will attend his event, and he has been taught and primed to expect the bar mitzvahs to be the most significant and important day in his life. So he is freaking out a bit--- but the soccer game is an issue only if Englands winds enough qualification games to enter the finals, and no one expects them to. Done. That's the plot. Obviously, the Big Day arrives; I leave it to you to discover how England fares, and how the kid's family life unfolds.

An important sub-plot is the kid's family. the dad is a retiring and overly-shy shlub, contrasted with his dynamic and 'life of the party', go-getter brother, the kid's uncle. The kid's older brother is a vicious bully, and his mom (Helena Bonham Carter) is the only loving, reasonable voice of strength in the family. Oh--- the kid's blind rabbi and bar mitzvahs coach, and Stephen Rae as the kid's physician also play a guiding roles for the boy.

Anyway--- things kind of creep along for the first half. It became a bit tedious, and I contemplated leaving. However, the second half was much perkier than the first, and the ending was genuinely exciting and thrilling. So, overall, while the pace was bit uneven, the end result was a pretty satisfying movie. In retrospect, I kind of wished the front end could have been a bit racier, or less 'portraiting' of the depressing family, or something. On balance, I liked it.