Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987)

Sammy and Rosie are an unconventional middle-class London married couple. They live in the midst of inner-city chaos, surround themselves with intellectual street people, and sleep with ... See full summary »

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writer:

Hanif Kureishi

Stars:

Shashi Kapoor, Claire Bloom, Frances Barber

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shashi Kapoor	...	Rafi Rahman
Frances Barber	...	Rosie Hobbs
Claire Bloom	...	Alice
Ayub Khan-Din	...	Sammy
Roland Gift	...	Danny / Victoria
Wendy Gazelle	...	Anna
Suzette Llewellyn	...	Vivia
Meera Syal	...	Rani
Badi Uzzaman	...	Ghost
Tessa Wojtczak	...	Bridget
Emer Gillespie	...	Eva
Lesley Manville	...	Margy
Mark Sproston	...	Young Policeman
Cynthia Powell	...	Woman in Kitchen
Dennis Conlon	...	Asian Shopkeeper

Storyline

Sammy and Rosie are an unconventional middle-class London married couple. They live in the midst of inner-city chaos, surround themselves with intellectual street people, and sleep with everybody - except each other! Things become interesting when Sammy's father, Raffi, who is a former Indian government minister, comes to London for a visit. Sammy, Rosie, and Raffi try to find meaning through their lives and loves.

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Plot Keywords:

love | inner city | british renaissance | wine | watching tv | 

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Taglines:

As London burns...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sammy y Rosie se acuestan

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,196,336

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel Four Films, Working Title Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During its initial release, many American newspapers would not run ads with the full title. Ads would show "Sammy and Rosie" printed at the top of a poster, with the bottom part shredded up.

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Connections

Referenced in There's Nothing Out There (1991)

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Soundtracks

Forever Dancing
Written by Jon Marsh
Performed by The Beloved

User Reviews

One of my top ten- I think a lot of people just didn't get it

I think that for the movie to make any sense, you have to have some knowledge of what's going on politically, culturally, historically, etc. Most of the detractors I've seen appear not to know the background. It's set during Thatcher's time in England. Sammy and Rosie are a hip urban couple. Their politics are progressive, and they live in a rough, racially mixed area of London. Sammy's father, once an important politician in his home country, has come to the London of his youth to retire; he'd gone to school there. His arrival upsets the balance of earnestness and hypocrisy in their lives.

One of the reasons I love movie is that no one gets off the hook-- it's challenging. People who seem politically correct and sincere have gaping flaws when their surface is scratched.

It's got one of my favorite scenes and lines ever. Sammy's father Rafi visits his great unrequited love Alice, played by the great Claire Bloom, and consummates his love, but she ultimately lambasts him, telling him he could have had her, but instead he must "content (himself) with having introduced flogging for minor offenses, nuclear capability and partridge-shooting into your country."