A Private Function

Description

Michael Palin (A Fish Called Wanda) teams with OscarÂ(r) winner* Maggie Smith (Gosford Park) in this uproarious comedy in which 'the laughs come fast (Variety) and the upper class becomes furious! Co-starring Denholm Elliott, Pete Postlethwaite and one divine swine, this hilarious comedy is alive and unruly, [and] the humor keeps boiling up (Pauline Kael, The New Yorker)! Life isn't easy in 1947 Yorkshire, where strict post-war rationing is putting the squeeze on the townspeople. But when a married working-class couple (Palin and Smith) discovers that the town's wealthy elite has been secretly fattening up an illegal pig for their own selfish gluttony, they hatch an outlandish kidnapping scheme that gives new meaning to the phrase bringing home the bacon ! *1969: Actress, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; 1978: Supporting Actress, California Suite

Customer Reviews:

Palin deals with pig's feet - and a class conscious community........2007-05-25

This is such a good and well crafted film, it is difficult to accept that it is also a very factual history lesson.

The setting is a small North of England town in 1947. Although WW2 has been over for 2 years, Socialism has greedily kept its iron, war-time hand, on the country as a whole. Shortages are severe and restrictions are strict. Food rationing is still very much in force and government inspectors are plentiful.

The upcoming wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip prompts the local 'big-wigs' to engage in actions that are far from legal, in an attempt to hold a civic feast to mark the occasion. A newcomer to the community (Palin), while carrying out his chiropodist's function with much success, doesn't 'fit in' with the local dignitaries - in particular, with the Local Doctor (Denholm Elliott).

After a series of odd - and often hilarious - escapades, Palin and his Class obsessed wife (Maggie Smith) find themselves invited to the civic feast after all.

This film is a true gem of English film humour and genuine acting talent. As a social history of England and its class-conscious society, prior to (say) 1970, it is of the greatest interest and veracity.

The acting, throughout, is first rate and Richard Griffiths, Pete, Postlethwaite and Bill Paterson give exemplary performances as they lead a very talented cast of extras.

Charming wartime comedy.......2005-03-05

The Alan Bennett-scripted A Private Function is an amusing tale about a chiropodist's attempt to steal a pig in post-WWII Yorkshire. Michael Palin is the longsuffering husband whose wife, Maggie Smith, wants to eat pork and move up in the world during a time when rationing was still in force, and the market for illicit meat was booming.

Eventually Palin and rival pig-thief Richard Griffiths, looking surprisingly porcine himself, fall in love with the hapless swine.

This is an often very funny look at postwar Britain from a unique perspective. It boasts a stellar cast that also includes Denholm Elliot, Tom Postlethwaite, Bill Paterson, Alison Steadman and Liz Smith.

For certain tastes only, but good Brit fun.......2005-01-18

It's all about the Princess and the Pig in this bleak black comedy, which takes place in war-rationed England, circa 1947. The princess, only in a peripheral story, is Elizabeth; and the pig, who takes front and center, is Betty, a sow who's being illegally fatted for slaughter. She gets a second chance at life when someone (Michael Palin) steals her. Very dark comedy, not for the light-hearted!

Staci Layne Wilson

Clear transfer and great story...........2003-12-14

Michael Palin of Monty Python and 'Fish Called Wanda' fame teams up with Maggie Smith ('Prime of Miss Jean Brodie', 'Room With a View', 'Gosford Park') to form one of the most eccentric married couples in English history. To top it off, the couple live with her mother played by the acctress who portrays the eccentric female vestry member (always knitting and creating strange kitchen concoctions) in the 'Vicar of Dilby' series.

Palin is "foot doctor" who spends his days bicycling from house to house in post-War II Yorkshire tending to female patients. In his travels around and about he crosses paths with a syndicate of "business men" who are raising an illegal pig for a "private function" to be held the day the Princess Elizabeth (II) marries.

Following a farcical turn of events, Palin kidnaps the pig named "Betty" planned for the roast. Urged on by Smith's character (pure Maggie), the couple "keep" the pig in their bathroom and try to kill it. Soon enough, the syndicate members discover the kidnapping and are hot on the tail of the missing pig. In the meantime, a zealous copper is hot on their tails.

Other wonderful actors in this romp include Denholm Elliot ('Room With a View'), Alison Steadman ('Singing Dectective', 'Pride and Prejudice'), Pete Postlehwaite ('Name of the Father', 'Brassed Off') and other very familiar faces. An uplifting film, but not suitable for those who are weak of stomach.

A comedy about post-war rationing?.......2003-05-11

A true lost-between-the-cracks comic gem. My friends and I have enjoyed this movie since we first saw it and finding good copies of it were difficult, to put it mildly. Although the DVD is skimpy, it's here, and damn reasonably priced, too.
Even with the DVD remaster, the sound is typically lousy (what IS it with the British...refuse to use German microphones?) and one almost has to turn the subtitles on to understand all the muffled dialog. Miking problems aside, "A Private Function" is a delightful, funny, occasionally crude comedy about class struggle in post-war Britain. A small "who's-who" of England's character actors make up the perfect cast of this film and all turn in splendid, low-key performances. Michael Palin, possibly the best "actor-actor" of the Monty Python troupe, is charming as the chiropodist who unwittingly stumbles unto the upper-middle-class via his female clientele, much to the delight of his social-aspiring, piano teacher wife, Maggie Smith.