George and Mildred (1980)
Directed by Peter Frazer-Jones

Film Review

One of the most popular British television sitcoms of the late 1970s, George and Mildred was thought to be a safe bet for a movie spin-off, but with the British film industry now in a state of terminal decline it proved to be the final nail in the coffin for TV-to-big screen comedy makeovers.  The one fatal mistake the film's producers made was failing to persuade Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke, the creators of both the original series and its dysfunctional married couple, to script the film.  Instead, another veteran television writer, Dick Sharples, was drafted in and what we get is a bland imitation of George and Mildred lazily grafted onto a limp comedy gangster film, which is barely sustained by its miserly portions of recycled gags.

Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy are, as you would expect, the main attraction but even their combined efforts are not enough to salvage a tediously formulaic comedy misfire.  Had the film stuck to the premise of the original TV series it could have made an enjoyable class-themed satire, with Mildred fighting a losing battle as she tries to drag her crude, socially inept husband towards middle class gentility.  The film has none of the subtlety or wit of the series that spawned it and even with acting heavyweights like Stratford Johns and Kenneth Cope on the cast list it struggles to be even mildly entertaining.  To compound the film's failure, its UK release was completely overshadowed by the death of Yootha Joyce from alcohol poisoning.  The critics panned the film for all it was worth and it bombed at the box office.  Whilst there is some fun to be had in seeing George and Mildred battling it out together one last time you can't help wishing that Joyce and Murphy had put their foot down and insisted on a better script.

Film Synopsis

The Ropers' adventure of a lifetime begins when Mildred decides that she and George will celebrate their wedding anniversary in one of London's top hotels.  The weekend gets off to a bad start when George is mistaken for a hitman by crooked businessman Harry Pinto.  When Pinto realises his error, he sends another hired killer after George, not knowing that another hitman, in the employ of his rival, has the same man in his sights.  As the bodies start piling up around the unwitting Ropers, Mildred begins to wish she had stayed at home...