Synopsis
To them Carry On meant something completely different....
Dramatisation of the love affair between Sidney James and Barbara Windsor, played out against the backdrop of the 'Carry On' films during the 1960s and 1970s.
Cor, Blimey!
Cast
Samantha Spiro Adam Godley Geoffrey Hutchings David McAlister Steve Speirs Hugh Walters Chrissie Cotterill Louise Delamere Alice Bailey Johnson Derek Howard Richard Vanstone Kenneth MacDonald Hetty Baynes Joanne Zorian Barbara Kirby Abigail McKern Windsor Davies Kellie Bright Alan Cox Barbara Windsor Jason Round Alan Barnes Maria Charles Peter Yapp Colin Marsh Claire Cathcart Alistair McGowan Jill Goldston Peter Roy Show All…
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Releases by Date
Theatrical
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UKPG
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UkrainePG
Releases by Country
UK
24 Apr 2000
- TheatricalPG
Ukraine
24 Apr 2000
- TheatricalPG
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An excellent screen version of Terry Johnson's play about the relationship between Sid James and Barbara Windsor, which was originally titled 'Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick' two years earlier.
Samantha Spiro makes an excellent Barbara - not only does she have the dirty giggle and the voice off pat, she makes the character more fully rounded than you might expect from the ditzy blonde. Geoffrey Hutchings as Sid starts as the archetypal dirty old man who becomes slowly more complex as the play progresses, while Adam Godley gives his spot-on Kenneth Williams a poignancy that is unexpected from the snipey waspishness you see in the early scenes as he flashes extras and whispers insults in Polari.
Other perfect characterisations include…
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If you squint, Geoffrey Hutchings almost looks like Sid James - ironically Hutchings spends the whole movie squinting to try and look like Sid James too.
Aside from that, all the actors do an incredible job of emulating the "Carry On" cast, creating another brilliantly depressing biopic.
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If you love the Carry On franchise, then you’ll love this. The cast are absolutely uncanny!!!
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The accompaniment to Babs that fills in the blanks of the Carry On era, endearing in many parts though you do feel like Sid James and Kenneth Williams are being played as impressions a little too much, where as Spiro encapsulates Windsor better. A good bit of Brit film history though.
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A strange film this one; part Carry On film, part romance, an impersonation showcase and home to the cringiest sex scene you'll ever see. The make-up artist character is largely superfluous, the actors playing Barbra Windsor, Kenneth Williams, and to a lesser degree, Sid James do an astounding job. I'm a bit lost reviewing it in all honesty. It starts off badly, turns into a genuinely touching romance, does a hatchet job on Kenneth Williams and then the real Barbra Windsor appears for some reason (as does that other staple Windsor of old school nudge nudge comedy - Windsor Davies).
If I could award this yeah I dunno out of 5, I would.
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Schizophrenically wavering between hagiography and character assassination is an odd place to be but this drama nefariously loiters there nevertheless, dipping into recycled anecdotes and here-say to assembly something that doesn’t know if it wants to be mimicry, pastiche or muckraker. All three I’d say.
Do we need to hear and see gossip about people long dead without the ability of recourse to set the record straight? There are plenty of dramas deriving from such sources but this neither illuminates nor inspires, it just depresses - the presumed sex life of Sid James is no-one’s business.
The impressions are fun and some of setups entertain as a kind of fudged nostalgia (although it’s factually wayward to say the least) but it doesn’t serve much purpose beyond this. That said it’s lighter in tone than the original stage version - Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick - but that’s no recommendation and it’s remains a grim enterprise.
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Maybe I was just not in the mood for this sort of film, but I'm a bit surprised it's so highly thought of. To me it seemed over-long, cluttered and messy, with no chemistry between the leads and relied almost entirely for positives on Adam Godley's excellent turn as Kenneth Williams.
And then there was the pointless cameo from Ms Windsor herself at the end...