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IMDbPro

Life Is Sweet

  • 19901990
  • RR
  • 1h 43m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
10K
YOUR RATING
Jane Horrocks and Claire Skinner in Life Is Sweet (1990)
Trailer for Life Is Sweet
Play trailer2:12
1 Video
10 Photos
  • Comedy
  • Drama
A shop assistant, her cook husband, and their twin daughters ponder their lives over a few weeks in a working-class suburb north of London.A shop assistant, her cook husband, and their twin daughters ponder their lives over a few weeks in a working-class suburb north of London.A shop assistant, her cook husband, and their twin daughters ponder their lives over a few weeks in a working-class suburb north of London.
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
10K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Mike Leigh
  • Writer
    • Mike Leigh
  • Stars
    • Alison Steadman
    • Jim Broadbent
    • Claire Skinner
Top credits
  • Director
    • Mike Leigh
  • Writer
    • Mike Leigh
  • Stars
    • Alison Steadman
    • Jim Broadbent
    • Claire Skinner
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 55User reviews
    • 40Critic reviews
    • 88Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 8 wins & 3 nominations

    Videos1

    Life Is Sweet
    Trailer 2:12
    Life Is Sweet

    Photos10

    Life Is Sweet (1990)
    Life Is Sweet (1990)
    Imelda Staunton and Mike Leigh in Bleak Moments (1971)
    Jane Horrocks and Claire Skinner in Life Is Sweet (1990)
    Jane Horrocks and Claire Skinner in Life Is Sweet (1990)
    Jane Horrocks and Alison Steadman in Life Is Sweet (1990)
    Jane Horrocks and Claire Skinner in Life Is Sweet (1990)
    Life Is Sweet (1990)
    Life Is Sweet (1990)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Alison Steadman
    Alison Steadman
    • Wendyas Wendy
    Jim Broadbent
    Jim Broadbent
    • Andyas Andy
    Claire Skinner
    Claire Skinner
    • Natalieas Natalie
    Jane Horrocks
    Jane Horrocks
    • Nicolaas Nicola
    Stephen Rea
    Stephen Rea
    • Patsyas Patsy
    Timothy Spall
    Timothy Spall
    • Aubreyas Aubrey
    David Thewlis
    David Thewlis
    • Nicola's Loveras Nicola's Lover
    Moya Brady
    • Paulaas Paula
    David Neilson
    David Neilson
    • Steveas Steve
    Harriet Thorpe
    Harriet Thorpe
    • Customeras Customer
    Paul Trussell
    • Chefas Chef
    • (as Paul Trussel)
    Jack Thorpe Baker
    • Nigelas Nigel
    • Director
      • Mike Leigh
    • Writer
      • Mike Leigh
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Bleak Moments
    6.9
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    6.6
    The Short & Curlies

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      David Thewlis was disappointed at being given such a small role, so Mike Leigh promised him that the next time he considered Thewlis for a role in a film, "he'd be given a fair slice of the pie." Thewlis would be cast as the lead in Leigh's next film Naked (1993), and win an award for his performance.
    • Quotes

      [Natalie and Nicola ponder having children]

      Natalie: Well, I wouldn't fancy bringing one up on me own.

      Nicola: It's better to be on your own than be with a bastard.

      Natalie: Well, presumably you wouldn't *choose* a bastard in the first place if you had any sense!

      Nicola: All men are bastards!

      Natalie: *What*?

      Nicola: They're all potential rapists!

      Natalie: That's a bit sweeping!

      Nicola: All men have got the ability to rape.

      Natalie: Well they don't all do it, do they!

      Nicola: But they've got the ability; they've got the desire.

      Natalie: That's paranoid rubbish!

      Nicola: What d'you know about paranoia?

      Natalie: Well, not half as much as you do, I'll give you that.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Other People's Money/Ernest Scared Stupid/City of Hope/Life Is Sweet (1991)
    • Soundtracks
      Happy Holidays
      By Rachel Portman and Julian Wastall

    User reviews55

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    I know these people
    Another reviewer has commented that this could be a fly-on-the-wall documentary rather than fiction. That hits the nail right on the head. I live some 5 miles from Enfield (where Life is Sweet was filmed) and this is completely true to life. No car chases, no martial artists, no expensive explosions, just life going on and (in the main) being fairly sweet. Everybody knows a Patsy who has a "little deal", everybody knows families like this one, everybody knows an Aubrey who never *quite* makes it. Mike Leigh knows what he's talking about, and it's enough to make a highly enjoyable movie that's worth seeing many times. I don't fancy Aubrey's "Saveloy on a bed of Lychees", though!
    helpful•29
    4
    • tony-walton
    • May 10, 2003

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 1991 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Livet leker!
    • Filming locations
      • 7 Wolsey Road, Enfield, London, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • British Screen Productions
      • Channel Four Films
      • Thin Man Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,516,414
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $12,856
      • Oct 27, 1991
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,516,414
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 43 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

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