Ready When You Are Mr. McGill

Another little British gem. Maybe I should have given it a ten, but almost nothing deserves a ten. Well, maybe Lord of the Rings. This is a very funny, very realistic film about everything that can go wrong and does while filming a TV show. Behind all that glamour and slickness you've got poor Bill Nighy, the director, trying to satisfy the producers and the writer and actually get this one scene filmed. And Tom Courtenay, a bit player who only has one line to say: a whole sixteen words he's been memorizing in his sleep. Both performances are superb, as are all the performances in the film. It is very funny, eccentric as only British film can be, and very realistic. I would recommend this film very highly, especially to those who are very critical of films without realising just what goes on behind the scenes. One of my kids works in film, and has told me what amount to horror stories about how difficult and frustrating doing a shoot can be. So while this film is really very funny, and a very good example of Murphy's Law, it is also realistic.