Dad's Army
The last time Dad’s Army was in the cinemas (for a 1971 feature-length foray) the cast were competing with their small-screen selves, but now here’s a loving reprise of the eternal jostling for position between Captain Mainwaring and Sergeant Wilson and their men, with an outstanding new cast to add fresh life. Yes, no one could ever do John Le Mesurier quite like John Le Mesurier, but then who better than Bill Nighy to apply his very own distinct brand of loucheness to Sergeant Wilson?Meanwhile, Toby Jones wisely injects an extra dash of slapstick to ensure his bumbling Captain Mainwaring does a little more than simply invoke the ghost of Arthur Lowe. But the particular delight comes with the unveiling of what you might call Mum’s Army, for at last after all these decades we finally meet the formidable Mrs Mainwaring and the women in uniform under her command with the ATS. Sarah Lancashire is genuinely affecting as the longsuffering Mrs Pike, and do look out for Alison Steadman in a zestful cameo as the irrepressible Mrs Fox.
The story turns upon the arrival in town of Rose Winters (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who tells the locals she is no less than a reporter for The Lady – and though she is as glamorous and elegantly attired (in Chanel, naturellement) as you would expect of anyone writing for these pages, it’s not long before you get the feeling that this femme most fatale who turns the heads of the Walmingtonon- Sea Home Guard may not be quite what she purports to be.
A particular place of honour must go to Julia Foster (Ben Fogle’s mum) and Annette Crosbie, who, playing readers of The Lady and the sisters of Private Godfrey (a game Michael Gambon) make a vital intervention to save Britain from the beastly Hun and prove that sweet little old ladies are underestimated at your peril.
While the mind boggles at what the future may hold for The Lady’s cinema oeuvre (where better than Lady Towers for 007 to go undercover next?), for now we can take heart in a thoroughly entertaining big-screen outing. Sure, the script doesn’t come close to the near-perfection of the TV show – it must surely be so much harder to construct a farce that goes beyond the standard sitcom 30 minutes – but the abundance of innocent silliness is rendered with loving affection, and the glee of the cast is palpable. Plus underneath it all is a welcome contribution to the current debate on our future in Europe: this is a film in which any Germans who venture to our shores are prey for target practice, while French fashion invites admiration but also suspicion – I’m not sure this one will be packing ’em out in cinematheques and kinos.
A particular place of honour must go to Julia Foster (Ben Fogle’s mum) and Annette Crosbie, who, playing readers of The Lady and the sisters of Private Godfrey (a game Michael Gambon) make a vital intervention to save Britain from the beastly Hun and prove that sweet little old ladies are underestimated at your peril.
While the mind boggles at what the future may hold for The Lady’s cinema oeuvre (where better than Lady Towers for 007 to go undercover next?), for now we can take heart in a thoroughly entertaining big-screen outing. Sure, the script doesn’t come close to the near-perfection of the TV show – it must surely be so much harder to construct a farce that goes beyond the standard sitcom 30 minutes – but the abundance of innocent silliness is rendered with loving affection, and the glee of the cast is palpable. Plus underneath it all is a welcome contribution to the current debate on our future in Europe: this is a film in which any Germans who venture to our shores are prey for target practice, while French fashion invites admiration but also suspicion – I’m not sure this one will be packing ’em out in cinematheques and kinos.