Life Is Sweet [DVD]

Excellent Mike Lee observational comedy drama! The characters are both ridiculously funny and nauseatingly embarrassing - Alison Steadman with her neighing laugh plays the upbeat mother trying to keep the family happy and sane - the daft, gullible dad is played to perfection by Jim Broadbent and the twin sisters, one a quiet, sensible Plumber, the other, played by Jane Horrocks, a twitchy bag of nerves going nowhere with her life, alternately scoffing Mars Bars and vomiting into carrier bags, she tries to hide her anorexia with empty political declamations and violent outbursts.Because the film is quite old it's a joy to see the actors in their youth - Jim Broadbent with black hair and beard and the boyfriend of the anorexic twin - David Thewlis - the complete opposite to our usual perception of him as kind, caring Professor Lupin in the Harry Potter films. Timothy Spall makes an appearance as the deluded restaurant owner who forgets to print the menus or advertise his new business then goes drunkenly berserk when no one comes on the first night! A riot of laughs with undertones of sadness and an early observation of the condition of anorexia and how it affects the normality of family life.

Love this film was very good movie watch this on tv very long time ago was waiting for this to come to to dvd was so glad love this film was true life you can relate to I love the t-shirt on jane hancock b to the poll tax and loved the song at the begining holiday song and love the kids at the dance class three kids just looked like my mates when they were younger I would have like to have seen moor of the children and would have liked to see the burger van up and running and it was funny with tim sporle in the red sports car but no job but then get a restrunt set up but no one comes to eat sad part he got drunk then the twins dad breaks his leg on a serving spoon in the kitchen but the date on the spoon was the year the twins was born its worth moor than 5 star rating good acting all round

Was a little apprehensive when I saw the low resolution logos and clips from other Film 4 titles preceding the main menu, but most relieved to see that this has an authentic transfer. The Blu-ray disc is single-layered with bit-rates in the mid-20's. This was a low budget production and this edition looks just as it appeared projected in cinemas. No obvious digital nose reduction nor other annoying efforts have been applied to try and "improve" the picture, which is naturally very grainy, having been shot on 16 mm. The sound is a rather feeble 2-channel Dolby Digital - but again: this is a Mike Leigh film from 1990, not something directed by David Fincher last year. The English subtitles are good. The disc is region free. This is how Fabulous Films should have done their remarkably poor edition of High Hopes. Sadly, no extras.Edit 16 February 2013: Now Criterion are putting this out with a commentary from Mike Leigh. That one will be the edition to get.

Superb film from Mike Leigh. It captures a slice of early 1990s Britain. Thatcherism was new. Timothy Spall as hopeful entrepreneur is outstanding. Stead an as wife, mother and friend plays her role to perfection. She's an ordinary woman leading an ordinary life. Her kids are different; one a female plumber and the other a politicised bulimic. The real strength of this social slice is. The way Steadman deals with life; as mother, wife, friend and ultimately remains true to herself and her values. No great action scenes, this is driven by narrative and plot. I'd watched it a couple of times before and I enjoyed revisiting this little gem. I'll watch it again.

This is an enjoyable slice of 1980s life as originally improvised by his stock set of actors and then scripted and directed by Leigh. Timothy Spall is excellent, as is Jim Broadbent but I wasn't convinced by the mannered performance of Jane Horrocks, and why does she have to adopt a silly accent with all her characters. Worth watching.

That's what this film is. I say small only because the whole subject is small - a small suburban family's daily existence. But from the moment they open their front door to us, we are reminded how extraordinary normal everyday families can be. The tone is bitingly satirical as it sends up some of the odder urban steroetypes of modern times. Without giving away these superb characters, Spall and Horrocks are hysterical and worryingly good in their roles. The Horrocks character in particular is a gem and is the real centrepiece around which this brilliantly crafted film rotates. I haven't seen a sharper or more satirical movie about British family life than this. Leigh at his best.

I do like Mike Leigh’s films and most of them although getting in are still relevant today and age well .The cast in this are mostly all household names now . Timothy Spall Alison Stadman Jim broadbent and even a young Jane Horrack and despite this I could not do much but feel it wasn’t one of Mike Leigh’s better films .I won’t watch again unlike others I have in his line up .

There were a number of early Mike Leigh films that are classics, this is one of them along with, Nuts in May, Abigails Party, etc!