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A Cock And Bull Story [2006]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Michael Winterbottom is no stranger to literary adaptation. Both Jude and The Claim were drawn from works by Thomas Hardy. Nor is the versatile filmmaker a stranger to the post-modern romp, like 24 Hour Party People. In that peon to Manchester's music scene, Steve Coogan was Factory honcho Tony Wilson. In Winterbottom's take on Laurence Sterne's digressive The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, the prolific helmer combines literature with lunacy and brings Coogan back as the titular character--and then some. Coogan doesn't just portray the 18th century squire, but his father Walter and insecure actor "Steve Coogan." It's a film about the making of a film, effortlessly shifting between Tristram's tumultuous birth and his frustrated adulthood--bogged down in the writing of his life story--and between fiction and (what appears to be) fact. There are no end to the worries on and off the set: Coogan worries his heels aren't high enough, Rob Brydon worries his teeth are too yellow, and Coogan's girlfriend (Kelly Macdonald) worries she isn't seeing enough of him. It may sound like Spike Jonze's Adaptation, but in spirit, it more closely resembles Tony Richardson's Tom Jones. Coogan and his co-stars, particularly Naomie Harris as the ultimate film nut, Gillian Anderson as the American brought in to boost the project's profile, and Brydon as Tristram's Uncle Toby are as game for the challenge as their fearless leader. Consequently, Tristram Shandy isn't just one of Winterbottom's best films--it's one of the year's best. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Editorial
Synopsis

Barely stopping to breathe between productions, outrageously prolific director Michael Winterbottom follows his graphically intimate 9 SONGS with the raucously entertaining A COCK AND BULL STORY. This time around, Winterbottom is out to film the unfilmable novel: an adaptation of Laurence Sterne's sprawling 18th Century masterpiece of digression, THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF TRISTRAM SHANDY, GENTLEMAN. What begins as a seemingly straightforward attempt to recreate the frenetic novel starring Steve Coogan as the title figure and Rob Brydon as his Uncle Toby quickly derails into a behind-the-scenes document of the film's actual production. Working triple time (for he also plays Tristram's father), Coogan is hilarious as the insecure Steve Coogan, a shallow actor who is more interested in his cute assistant (Naomie Harris) than the mother of his newborn child (the always delightful Kelly Macdonald). Meanwhile, Rob Brydon is trying desperately to convince Steve Coogan that his role is a co-lead, not merely a supporting one. As the production threatens to spin out of control, the filmmakers hire Gillian Anderson (playing herself, of course) to fill a much-needed role. Coming off like a madcap collision of BARRY LYNDON and 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE, Winterbottom's film is a hilarious and surprisingly tender ode to fatherhood and moviemaking in general.

Bull
Review date: 2008-03-13 Rating: 2 out of 10

A selection of familiar faces from British TV comedy led by Steve Cougan play fictional versions of themselves, making a movie from a famous novel with tedious results. Features a lot of rushing around talking garbage and screaming from a lady pretending to be pregnant. Worst film I've seen in a long time.

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Reviews


Not one of our best choices.
Review date: 2007-08-22 Rating: 4 out of 10

I suppose that as I was not a big fan of Mr Coogan, this was not the best DVD to get but it had good reviews so I thought I'd give it a go. However, neither I nor my husband were very impressed and switched it off after 15 minutes.
But if you are a fan and can put up with the jumping back and forward in time aspect of the film, give it a go.

Erm....
Review date: 2007-08-22 Rating: 4 out of 10

I saw this recently, expecting something really outstanding, and, well, sort of enjoyed it, but in hindsight I have no idea why. The more I think about it he more I feel negetivity towards it washing over me. This is not the first time that Coogan has chosen to play himself as a bit of an egotistical nutter, and while he does it so well (I'm saying nothing!), it's a trick I have seen before. Rob Brydon gives a good performance, and the supporting actors and actresses read like a contempory who's who, but it feels smug and clever, and feels like it wants to divide it's audience into those who get it and those who don't, then feel pleased with itself about it.

I have not read Trstram Shandy, and feel I would enjoy it more if I had. If this is true then it is already setting itself to be elitist, before the first frame has been shown. Dylan Moran seems to be playing Bernard Black in a 18th century wig, Stephen Fry is playing Stephen Fry in and 18th Century wig (is a picture coming apparent to you?) and I generally thought it to be, well more amusing. It was entertaining in an odd way, but I cannot see myself EVER wanting to see it again. I nearly saw it at the cinema; I'm glad now I didin't.

not as clever as it would like to be
Review date: 2007-08-20 Rating: 6 out of 10

Michael Winterbottom is no stranger to the whole idea of postmodernism and self referencing. Indeed, one of the things that made his rip roaring 24hour party people so enjoyable was its constant ability to reference itself as well as a number of well placed post modern jokes (the one in which Tony Wilson japes that a scene was cut from the film but will probably be on the deleted scenes on the DVD springs instantly to mind). Unfortunately, when self reference turns into self reverence, then we have a problem, and this is exactly what happens to this film.
A film within a film, it deals with the attempt to bring the "unfilmable" 18th century novel "The Life and Adventures of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" by Laurence Sterne to the screen, and all the problems, insecurities and arguments that this entails. Playing with our preconceptions to a certain degree, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play...well essentially themselves, or rather caricatures of themselves as the take on the roles of characters in the book and the actors playing those characters, who just happen to be named...Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.
So far so good, as the film happily mixes both scenes from Tristrams life (including his amazingly drawn out birth, during which Coogan plays not only Tristrams father, but also narrates as the yet unborn Tristram himself), and the things that go on around the production (Coogan worrying that the heels on his shoes are to low, thereby not giving him enough presence in the film, Brydon mocking Coogans inflated ego with some surprisingly well observed impressions, constant Alan Partridge references, so on and so forth). And aside from Coogan and Brydon, the film boasts a wealth of acting and comedic talent, including Naomi Harris, Dylan Moran, Keeley Hawes and even a brief appearance from Gillian Anderson as the cut from the final film Widow Wadman.
Unfortunately, none of this prevents the film from descending into something of a mess. Whether Winterbottom is trying to say something about the film-making process, something about actors or something about our own pre-conceptions, it is hard to say amidst the confusing jumble that this film becomes. Whilst the film is undoubtedly clever, it is not nearly as clever as it clearly thinks it is. Funny in parts, ironic and knowing in others, it is a confusing whole and lives up to its title only by accident.



Bull at its best
Review date: 2007-08-20 Rating: 10 out of 10

I suppose it's not an absolute prerequisite to have read Tristram Shandy to enjoy this film, but judging by some of the other reviews, it certainly helps. I'm not sure otherwise how you would appreciate the anarchic structure of the film, or the way it plays with self-referentiality in the manner of Laurence Sterne's original masterpiece.

Tristram Shandy is probably one of the most intelligent, funny and inventive novels in English fiction, and one very close to my heart. So I was apprehensive when I first saw this, although I'd long been a fan of Rob Brydon and his "Marion and Geoff" series. I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I was delighted. The film has brilliantly captured all the vitality and exuberance of the book, following the spirit rather than the letter. As another reviewer so excellently put it, this is a film about making a film in just the same way as Sterne wrote a book about writing a book. It's crammed with wit, in-jokes and excellent cameo performances, and is a far better send-up of the whole business of making movies than the execrable "Adaptation".

Moreover, I am sure that Laurence Sterne, now dead nearly 350 years, would have admired it greatly.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Steve Coogan
Shirley Henderson
Rob Brydon
Gillian Anderson
Keeley Hawes

Creators:
Steve Coogan (Primary Contributor)
Rob Brydon (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Lions Gate Home Ent. UK Ltd
Manufacturer: Lions Gate Home Ent. UK Ltd
EAN: 5060052410764
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-09-10
Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 94 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005
Language: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)

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