Customer Reviews

Girls' Night [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Perhaps it is the current theater glut of the comic book hero extravaganzas, angry political films, and just plain mindless movies that makes little films like GIRLS' NIGHT seem special. But on closer examination this small story about the power of healing inherent in strong relationships holds its own as a wel made statement. The story takes place in Northern England and the accents are perfect, though that perfection means that some of the dialogue is indecipherable! Factory workers both, Dawn (Brenda Blethyn) is the generous, giving spirit who finds ways to lighten everyone's life and has just been diagnosed as have a recurrence of breast cancer, metastasized to her brain. Jackie (Julie Walters) is her sister-in-law who is as rowdy and self-centered as Dawn is calm and selfless. They are close friends as well as family and it is to Jackie that Dawn elects to share the burden of her prognosis, deciding to protect her husband and family from the stress. The two have a winning Bingo ticket and inherit a sizeable sum. When Dawn succumbs to the side effects of her chemotherapy and radiation, she shares with Jackie that she has elected to refuse further treatment and all that she wants to do is fulfill her dream of going to Las Vegas for a holiday before she dies. The two depart for Las Vegas, win at the slots, laugh and cry and become closer - Jackie gets a better vantage of her own etiology of sadness and makes significant changes. They return home and the ending is left for the viewer to experience.

Julie Walters and Brenda Blethyn at their best! It is hard for Americans to appreciate the working class humor of British films, and this one may be one of them. However, the two women in the film take a trip out to Las Vegas and that makes it appeal to my American friends. The film is a tragi-comedy in that it is a story of a freindship between two women when one of them is diagnosed with terminal cancer. It is poignant and, at times, heart rending, but it leaves you much the richer for watching it.

In spite of negative expectations, this film is delicately handled, funny and touching. Brenda Blethyn and Julie Walters play English friends who win a bingo competition and travel to Las Vegas. However the story isn't really about luck or holidays. It's more about friendship and self-awareness. Director Nick Hurran disorientates us with the opening but then gives us marvellous aerial views which lead to the bird/flight metaphor he employs. The women are Northern working class, noticeable from the way they drop the adjective from their sentences eg "I'm packing in job", and the way Hurran presents a long confrontation between Walters and their boss in the workplace clues us that Hurran is aiming higher. Walters is barely likeable, embittered by her unsatisfying marriage and self-centred, and Hurran gives her deliberately unflattering close-ups. I like the scene where an argument transforms into a moment of self-awareness between her and the man she leaves her husband for. Blethyn is the opposite of Walters, luckier with men and more open and vulnerable, which predetermines the illness to come. Even in the Las Vegas scenes, Hurran and writer Kay Mellor don't fall back on obvious fish-out-of-water cliches. There are a few quibbles - an odd back view of Walters in a hospital, making her resemble a dominatrix (recalling her Personal Services), and the final close-up is a bit too Sophie's Choice, but these are minor. Kris Kristofferson hasn't much to do but is likeable as always, though age has made his crinkly eyes become squinty. I would have liked Hurran to follow through with the gay cowboy line but that may have been too much of a distraction, and probably altered his tone.

I would love to get this dvd because I love both
Walters and Blethyn.However,since the seller
VALLEYCD has decided to gouge the public with
the unbelievably ludicrous price of $224.for
this dvd,I shall not be making a purchase.
How Amazon can allow such extreme price gouging
is beyond me.SHAME ON VALLEYCD for it's greediness.
I shall never buy any dvd from them !!!
DVDDIVA

This film is a favorite of mine & I was happy to have the video. Good price & ex condition.

Brenda blethyn and Julie Walters are two of the finest actresses to come out of Great Britain. Comedy, drama, tragedy, whatever genre, they can do it all and this film is no exception. Picture two women on a holiday (one terminally ill) in Las Vegas. They meet up with Kris Kristofferson, a rancher who runs into them in Glitter Gulch. Brenda Blethyn is smitten by the American cowboy. She does not let anyone know a bout her illness immediately, she is out to have one "last fling" before death. She has been the doting housewife and mother caring for everyone but herself and now she is coming to grips with reality that she is really alone in the world. She travels to America with her co-worker and best friend Julie Walters. The escapades range from dressing up as cowgirls, playing the high stakes tables and winning, to seducing Kris Kristofferson and his cowhands. On a dark note, when the illness is finally revealed, it is handled with a dark comedic effect and not as a tragedy. The ending is a surprise and well worth the entire movie. A very touching movie that explains the close bond between two old friends, a tragic circumstance, and making the best out of a bad situation. A must see for fans of Blethyn and Walters.

In spite of negative expectations, this film is delicately handled, funny and touching. Brenda Blethyn and Julie Walters play English friends who win a bingo competition and travel to Las Vegas. However the story isn't really about luck or holidays. It's more about friendship and self-awareness. Director Nick Hurran disorientates us with the opening but then gives us marvellous aerial views which lead to the bird/flight metaphor he employs. The women are Northern working class, noticeable from the way they drop the adjective from their sentences eg "I'm packing in job", and the way Hurran presents a long confrontation between Walters and their boss in the workplace clues us that Hurran is aiming higher. Walters is barely likeable, embittered by her unsatisfying marriage and self-centred, and Hurran gives her deliberately unflattering close-ups. I like the scene where an argument transforms into a moment of self-awareness between her and the man she leaves her husband for. Blethyn is the opposite of Walters, luckier with men and more open and vulnerable, which predetermines the illness to come. Even in the Las Vegas scenes, Hurran and writer Kay Mellor don't fall back on obvious fish-out-of-water stereotypes. There are a few quibbles - an odd back view of Walters in a hospital, making her resemble a dominatrix (recalling her Personal Services), and the final close-up is a bit too Sophie's Choice, but these are minor. Kris Kristofferson hasn't much to do but is likeable as always, though age has made his crinkly eyes become squinty. I would have liked Hurran to follow through with the gay cowboy line but that may have been too much of a distraction, and probably altered his tone.