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Life Is Sweet (1990)

R | | Comedy, Drama | December 1991 (USA)
Life Is Sweet Poster
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A waitress, her cook husband, & their twin daughters ponder their lives over a few weeks in a working-class suburb north of London.

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8 wins & 3 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Nicola's Lover
Moya Brady ...
Paula
...
Steve
...
Customer
Paul Trussell ...
Chef (as Paul Trussel)
Jack Thorpe Baker ...
Nigel
See full cast »
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Storyline

Just north of London live Wendy, Andy, and their twenty-something twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy clerks in a shop, leads aerobics at a primary school, jokes like a vaudevillian, agrees to waitress at a friend's new restaurant and dotes on Andy, a cook who forever puts off home remodeling projects, and with a drunken friend, buys a broken down lunch wagon. Natalie, with short neat hair and a snappy, droll manner, is a plumber; she has a holiday planned in America, but little else. Last is Nicola, odd man out: a snarl, big glasses, cigarette, mussed hair, jittery fingers, bulimic, jobless, and unhappy. How they interact and play out family conflict and love is the film's subject. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

twin | tied up | secret lover | midlife crisis | compassion | See All (32) »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and a scene of sensuality | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

December 1991 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

A Vida é Doce  »

Filming Locations:

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Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,516,414
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

, ,  »
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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Aubrey's bizarre recipes were devised by Mike Leigh and Timothy Spall over the course of an evening, and then checked for plausibility with a professional chef, who advised them about which ones were technically impossible to prepare; all the ones that appear in the film are, as Leigh put it, "all feasible, gross as it sounds." See more »

Quotes

[last lines]
Natalie: Do you want some money?
See more »

Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Other People's Money/Ernest Scared Stupid/City of Hope/Life Is Sweet (1991) See more »

Soundtracks

Happy Holidays
By Rachel Portman and Julian Wastall
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User Reviews

 
Best film of the year
19 September 2001 | by – See all my reviews

What can I say that previous fans of this movie have not said yet? I think that Mike Leigh is the best filmmaker working today. So, I won't bother rehashing the story line.

I am convinced even thinking back to 1991, when it was released in the US, that Life is Sweet was the best of that year. That year was remembered more for, among others, Schindler's List, The Remains of the Day and The Piano.

Alison Steadman seemingly insensitive lighthearted outlook on the world -laughing after nearly every sentence she or others utter, which incredibly I never tired of (an amazing feat), is all just her way of dealing with life. She sees it for what it is. The scene where she explains to her daughter Nicola how much of a sacrifice that she and her husband have made for the sake of their family is one of the most touching I have seen between a mother and daughter. I felt as though I was eaves-dropping while watching it. What a pleasure!
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