Jan 20th
A Bunch of Amateurs** (15)
Hollywood Film Theatre, Ipswich

GB 2008. Cinemax/Isle of Man Film/Odyssey/Limelight/Lipsync/Trademark Films. 96m.

An ageing Hollywood action star is tricked into playing King Lear in a tiny Suffolk village local production.
Dryly amusing mixture of unlikely opposites, with certain plot elements that parallel (partly) Shakespeare's play, and in spite of occasional crass moments and inevitable sentiment, the whole thing has a general warmth about it that harks back to the days of Ealing comedy.

Written by: Jonathan Gershfield, John Ross, Ian Hislop, Nick Newman.
Producer: David Parfitt.
Director: Andy Cadiff.
Starring: Burt Reynolds, Samantha Bond, Imelda Staunton, Derek Jacobi, Camilla Arfwedson, Charles Durning, Lorraine Ashbourne, Peter Gunn, Tony Jayawardena, Gemma Lawrence.
Photography: Ashley Rowe.
Music: Christian Henson.
Production Design: Melanie Allen.

Preceded by:
Mind Games*(GB 2008. 2m.; d: Peter Bunzl.)
(Virgin Media Shorts)