Synopsis
A short comedy by Mike Leigh about the romance between a young woman and a man who communicates only through jokes and humor...
The Short & Curlies
1987 Directed by Mike Leigh
Director
Producers
Writer
Editor
Cinematography
Assistant Director
Production Design
Composer
Sound
Costume Design
Makeup
Studios
Country
Language
Alternative Title
短发和卷发
Releases by Date
Theatrical
-
UK
Releases by Country
UK
01 Dec 1987
- Theatrical
Popular reviews
More-
Sharply written and insightful in its portrayal of men doing bits in lieu of a personality
-
men who do bits as their personality: :(((
David Thewlis doing bits as his personality: :)))
-
What's round and really violent?
A vicious circle.This, and many other stupendous one-liners are delivered by a young and slightly pimply David Thewlis as his nervously awkward character Clive attempts to win the girl by way of terrible dad jokes. I mean, it's an approach... and he did get an odd smile.
Mike Leigh created this 17 minutes of pure joy at a time in late 80s Britain when house prices were surging, interest rates were rising, unemployment was under 2.5m for the first time since '81 and with nearly 9 years on 'the throne', Margaret Thatcher as the longest serving PM of the century.
This is great fun, and a surprisingly realistic reflection of life in the relationship trenches at the time.
-
It’s incredible how many memorable characters, plot threads, and clever bits of dialogue Mike Leigh shoves into this 18-minute film! The greatest attraction: a very young David Thewlis who plays a happy-go-lucky type that feels like if his Naked character had a sunnier disposition.
-
Mike Leigh just knows how to write a mean and lean screenplay.
In 17 minutes he gives me more than what some films struggle to achieve in 90 minutes. -
-
David Thewlis is impossibly young-looking in this early short film from Mike Leigh, which traffics so well in the weird equilibrium between its two leads--Sylvestra Le Touzel as a sort of stoicly glum drugstore cashier and Thewlis as her almost terminally awkward young-would be beau--that when it becomes surprisingly (almost hauntingly) poignant late in its short running time (most scenes are a minute or two-it spans material that would be EASY to fill a much longer movie with) it hits like an unexpected bat to the head. Nice little bit of razzle-dazzle.
-
“I’ll sing you a song that isn’t very long // in fact it ends right here—“
-
A light-hearted comedy about the contrasting interactions between social atypicals in the most peculiar scenarios with Thewlis as a versatile timid joker eliminating the boredom towards life of an apathic woman surrounded by peculiar characters. Leigh proves himself to be a master of interconnected relationships regardless of how unusual they may be and the result is of high rewatchability. There are people like this out there, for better or for worse, but Leigh's scope, for the meantime, is well-intentioned and optimistic and the final result is a great little charm.
82/100
-
what are david thewlis stans called? thewlinators? i’m a thewlinator. join the thewlination
-
Cheekily and wisely, Mike Leigh's 18 minute cinematic short from 1987 manages to be multilayered and densely packed, as if to prove something about the short not having to be...well, short. Brief scenes come thick and fast covering quite a scope, specifically from boy meets girl to boy and girl prepare for marriage.
Sylvestra Le Touzel stars as Joy, a rather humourless young woman who works at a chemist. Its there that she meets Clive (David Thewlis) a walking compendium of corny jokes. Their burgeoning relationship is played out through Joy's visits to her hairdresser, Betty; a breathless bundle of nervous energy and ailments played by Alison Steadman. Betty's daughter Charlene (Wendy Nottingham) is still at home and, as we…
-
Baby David Thewlis your charm has somehow won me over despite your terrible, unceasing barrage of bits.