Customer Reviews

Behaving Badly

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Behaving Badly is a 1988 four-part British comedy-drama (with 50-minute episodes) starring Judi Dench (As Time Goes By, A Fine Romance), who puts in a wonderful performance as a dowdy, middle-aged woman named Bridget. Like so many women, Bridget has spent her life sacrificing her own interests and desires in order to please others (in her case, her husband Mark). And what does she have to show for a life as a self-sacrificing door-mat? A husband who, after 20 years of marriage, has divorced her and married a much younger woman. The irony is that Mark's new wife Rebecca (Frances Barber) is a spontaneous, vibrant woman who is full of life and who has no intention of leading her life according to the dictates of others. In short, she is everything that Bridget is not--or to be more accurate, she is everything Bridget, years ago, had chosen not to be.

The series opens five years after their separation, and Bridget has basically been putting in time--taking pottery lessons, attending church, and generally doing the things lonely, middle-aged women seem to be expected to do to fill in their days. Bridget, however, realises she's in a rut and leading a humdrum, unsatisfying life, and she decides, for the first time in her life, to put herself first, to buck the tide of expectation, and to search for a way to move forward out of the bleak, monotonous existence her life has become. That decision results in her making some very dramatic moves which are disruptive both to Mark and Rebecca and to her daughter, Phyllida. It also results in the title of the series, for almost everyone thinks that Bridget is behaving badly by doing what feels right to her regardless of the impact on those around her; what's worse, she simply couldn't care less what others think or say about her.

There is a selfishness in Bridget's actions, but after twenty years of self-sacrifice and unwavering devotion to Mark--only to end up on the scrap heap--one can't help feeling that she's earned the right to think of herself for once. For Bridget it's a journey of self-discovery, and as she comes closer to realising who she is and what she wants, she blossoms and becomes a much more interesting, exciting, and beautiful woman--an individual instead of just one of many nameless, faceless conformists who, sheeplike, accept their lot in life with good grace. Most importantly, she gains respect and admiration where once there was resentment and ridicule.

One other character worth mentioning is Frieda, Bridget's Jewish mother-in-law (Mark's mother). She's a real character, what with her attempts at emotional blackmail--and worse! She'll stop at nothing to get rid of the interloper, Rebecca, and her attempts and complaints provide the bulk of the humour in the show.

All in all, I enjoyed this series which, being about relationships and personal growth, is more of a woman's show. I also found the ending to be very satisfying. This is a show about the difficult journey toward self-empowerment--about a woman who gains control over her life and gains the confidence to make her own often difficult decisions despite life's uncertainties. It is a show which leaves the viewer feeling good--perhaps even a little inspired.

First off,I love Judi Dench... But I did not like this flick very much. I found that I didn't like most of the characters, and did not care what became of them. The husband is a dog! and my thought was why pine over this sorry example of a man? Judi's character is at the beginning such a mouse,that you can see why no one including her daughter wanted to hang around her. and why no one buddied up with her even after the divorce, and even after she decides she is going to do what she wants, she goes back to the old man, and plagues him and the new wife rather that get on with a worthwile existence. Her mother in law is horrid, and it shows just what a wimp the son is, that he continues to live with her and allows her to insult and try to humiliate the new wife. (who was stupid enough to allow herself to get stuck in such a verbally abusive situation.) The daughter is lame, and her roomies are lame, and the one sniveling girl who has a breakdown is so annoying, that i will never watch this again, because i would have to listen to her sniffling and whining again. The one character i liked, they killed off, and that was the roommates granddad. He was way smarter, and more observant that anyone else in the whole movie. He was also the most sincere protrayal in my mind of what all to often happens with the elderly, getting shunted here and there, because no one wants to care for them. I agree with the one reviewer too about story lines that don't seem to add to the original plot. like the Minister of the Black Church, and the daughter trying to seduce him. What was that in here for? Go figure,I guess just give this a view, and enjoy Judi's great acting talents, and don't try to get to involved. It will make you crazy.

I loved Judi Dench in "A Fine Romance" and "As Time Goes By." Unfortunately, "Behaving Badly" is just bad.

While A Fine Romance and As Time Goes By are classic character-driven comedies, "Behaving Badly" doesn't succeed at drama or comedy. It's too short to grow truly fond of the characters and what's meant as humor just isn't funny.

I slugged through all the episodes, hoping for something better. No such luck. Spend your time and your money on one of Dench's other splendid movies or series.

BEHAVING BADLY is bad enough to qualify for American television.

This British episodic comedy, if that's what it is, begins as Bridget Mayor (Judi Dench), while preparing dinner, is told by her husband Mark (Ronald Pickup) that he's having an affair. Keeping a stiff upper lip, Bridget still manages to get the turbot on the table. The scene shifts forward a couple of years. Mark is now married to Rebecca (Frances Barber), and the two live with Mark's cantankerous, meddling, German-born mother Frieda (Gwen Watford). Frieda regards Rebecca as an interloper, disdainfully calls her the "red-haired Belgian", and plots her destruction through witchcraft. Frieda also stays in constant telephone contact with Bridget, who lives by herself in a lonely flat while still keeping a stiff upper lip. Circling the periphery of events is the twenty-something Mayor daughter, Trudy (Antonia Pemberton), who just wants to stay uninvolved. One day, Bridget decides that silent stoicism is tiresome, and moves in unannounced with Frieda, Mark, and Rebecca, who's pregnant with Mark's child.

The screenwriters could have left it at that and come away with a success. But, no; they reduce it to near rubbish with the inclusion of three completely unnecessary subplots involving characters that were unengaging or downright silly.

ONE: Trudy shares a flat with three other young professionals, one of whom is Giles (Douglas Hodge), whose semi-invalid and incontinent grandfather (Patrick Godfrey) is dumped into his care without warning or permission. Trudy is distraught, because most of the caretaking falls upon her. Her other female roommate, the vapid and witless Serafina (Joely Richardson), is no help as she's suffering a nervous breakdown.

TWO: Trudy schemes to attract the attentions of Daniel (Hugh Quarshie), a hunky, American-born and trained, Black minister who's established a Baptist mission in London for reasons that go unexplained.

THREE: Bridget moves out of Frieda's house and into Trudy's flat. Trudy rebels and moves in with Frieda, Rebecca, and Dad. Bridget falls in love with Giles, who's of an age to be her son, and the two discuss moving to California. (Of all the ill-conceived detours in this 4-part miniseries, this one elicited from me the most puzzled "But, why?" It was almost painful to watch.)

Not being an unqualified Judi Dench fan, the end of episode 4 - thank heavens there weren't more - left me pretty much disgusted that I'd wasted so much time on BEHAVING BADLY. I can do that with American TV without the added expense of a DVD purchase or rental.

Note: While watching BEHAVING BADLY, I thought Bridget's daughter was named "Phyllida", but a cast list on various websites say it's "Trudy". I don't get it, but don't really care except as a point of accuracy. Please excuse me if this poorly executed attempt at entertainment has left me baffled.

One might call this well-acted BBC series a quirky humorous soap opera that can be viewed even by people that despise soap operas and who would be embarrassed to admit viewing one. In volume one, the Judi Dench character's husband tells her after a twenty-year marriage that he is in love with a much younger woman and is divorcing her. The couple has a daughter. The husband remarries and lives with his new wife in his mother's house. The mother, who is hilarious, hates her new daughter-in-law, and constantly belittles her to her and her son's face. The mother constantly calls Dench who she considers her true daughter-in-law. Five years later, Dench is lonely and unable to discover anything worthwhile to do. So she leaves her apartment and goes to live in the mother's house together with her divorced husband and his wife, so that she can have company. The mother is overjoyed, but her ex-husband and his wife are not. They can't figure out how to get rid of her.

Their daughter lives in an apartment with another woman and two men, at least one of whom is gay. She falls in love with a black preacher who is much older than her; the opposite situation of her father. The father of one of the male occupants in her apartment brings his near senile father, the occupant's grandfather, to the apartment, leaves him there, and travels out of the country. The grandfather does many things that seem humorous to us, but drive the other occupants crazy, such as urinating without lifting the toilet cover.

Behaving Badly: 1 out of 10: I have a very high tolerance for cinematic pain. I'm willing to sit through almost anything. Heck forget Jar Jar Binks that's child's play, forget got some undubbed Japanese ghost story sans subtitles' cakewalk, forget some sixties experimental film feature two characters in a white room for six hours.

Behaving badly broke me.

I kept watching all the way through and it kept getting worse. I like Judi Dench but she is simply unwatchable in this. She plays a dowdy church mouse whose husband leaves her for a younger woman and she decides to think for herself. The choices that she makes are insane and distinctly unfunny.



Ah the pain. Joey Richardson as the younger husband stealing harlot suffers from theater acting disease common in BBC productions but it's the grandmother/mother-in-law (Gwen Watford) that did me in. Gwen plays the most painfully irritating stereo type in television history. (Overbearing Jewish shrew that performs voodoo) Oh and the series features "kids" each more banal than the last. (The girl under going a nervous breakdown may send you to your own she is that contagious) Why the kids are even in this series is beyond me. (A younger demographic perhaps?) They are a Real World episode gone horrible wrong. Why is there a black American preacher/love interest? Why would anyone steal Judi Dench's husband? (He is such a wimpy cad and come with more baggage than the Howell's on Gilligan's Island.) In four episodes there is not one laugh. There is only confusion and pain. It is like a Mike Leigh sitcom.

A WASTE OF JUDI DENCH'S TALENTS. WE COULD NOT GET THROUGH THE WHOLE SERIES.I CANNOT EVEN GET RID OF IT ON AMAZON. SAVE YOUR MONEY.READ A BOOK.

Judi Dench's acting was superb, and the story line kept my wife and I glud to the TV. Great supporting actors.

Seriously, anything Judi Dench does is great, but this is wonderful!

Every character is a star. I want to own this movie and any woman whose husband leaves her for a younger woman needs to own a copy. It is brilliant. Divorce attorneys should all have a copy to send to the woman after the divorce.

The best part is Judi moves out of a condo/flat and moves back into their home where her X is living with the younger wife. It is classic. "Brilliant" can be used in almost every scene.

Just buy it!

double standards

So good to see this again and own it . very funny in parts and such a good insight into lives and all the dramas .The double standards between men and women so well done