Cheeky (2003)

Consumed with sadness after the death of his wife and subsequent rejection from his son, a widower, at the urging of his friends, opts to appear on a vulgar, wildly popular game show (for ... See full summary »

Director:

David Thewlis

Writer:

David Thewlis

Stars:

David Thewlis, Lisa Gorman, Sean Ward

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Thewlis	...	Harry Sankey
Lisa Gorman	...	Nancy Sankey
Sean Ward	...	Sam Sankey
Rosalind Knight	...	Pam
Linda Kerr Scott	...	Peggy
Eddie Marsan	...	Reg
Mark Benton	...	Big Mick
John Henshaw	...	Kenny
Johnny Vegas	...	Alf Price
Ashley Thewlis	...	Karen
Joseph Johnston	...	Crusty
Benedict Macdonald	...	Snot (as Ben Macdonald)
Tim Potter	...	Horace
Suzanne Nixon	...	Harriet
Stephen Bent	...	Albert Sharples

Storyline

Consumed with sadness after the death of his wife and subsequent rejection from his son, a widower, at the urging of his friends, opts to appear on a vulgar, wildly popular game show (for which his wife signed him up) and watches his life start to change for the better.

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Plot Keywords:

sadness | rejection | fictional game show | quiz show | poem | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 August 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

Descarado

Filming Locations:

Ambleside, Cumbria, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, Xingu Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Thewlis, who wrote the screenplay, was not meant to direct the film, let alone be in it. He has since said that "it's just too much stress. It's just awful", and that with Cheeky he "didn't have a very good time and I don't like the finished product... It's not rubbish, but it's not what it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be something much stranger. It was supposed to be very inspired by Buñuel, but you'd struggle to see that."

User Reviews

A bit of a mess...

I'm a big David Thewlis fan, so I was thrilled to obtain a copy of a film written by, directed by, and starring him. However, in spite of my expectations, I found it to be a bit of a mess. At the core, it has potential; the story of a father and son, each of whom blame the other for the death of his wife/mother, is quite compelling. Setting all of this in the context of a frenetic game show with an obnoxious host only makes the plot more intriguing. However, throughout the film there are significant distractions (e.g. a potential love interest for the main character, a small town full of quirky denizens), and the film seems to lose its focus. Also, although the set-up lends itself to a mixture of comedy and drama, I never felt like the two fit seamlessly together, rather the film seems to leap back and forth from one to the other.

I'd recommend Cheeky to fans of Thewlis, as there are a number of moments in which he displays his brilliance as an actor (and without question it's better than other films he's been in such as Timeline, The Island of Dr. Moreau, or Basic Instinct 2).