User reviews

A near classic; like something Ealing might have done if, perhaps, raunchier though not necessarily darker. Set at the time of the present Queen Elizabeth's wedding to Prince Phillip, it's about the petty jealousies of the ostensible middle-classes of Northern ration-book Britain.

Michael Palin is Gilbert, a mild-mannered chiropodist, looked down upon, in all senses, by the local community who finds his trump card and way into society in the form of a pig that is being fattened for the private function of the title, a dinner for local dignitaries in celebration of the royal wedding. Maggie Smith is his genteel wife who turns into Lady MacBeth in pursuit of her dreams of fitting in and that great character actress Liz Smith is her slightly dotty mother. Scriptwriter Alan Bennet's depiction of the milieu of false noblesse oblige is as sharp as ever and the entire cast rise to the occasion.

A sympathetic black comedy about human nature and the relativity of principles, especially in times of need.

The use of a pig turns out to be a delicious metaphor about how much human beings are willing to get their hands dirty, just to have their bacon on the table, every day.

A tongue-in-cheek Monty Python twist in a film executive produced by ex-Beatle George Harrison.

Curious is the reference to the bad example of the French, in the bacon black market, which is exactly the same as that supplied by the English.

In Times of Brexit it seems an aditiinal irony to the British values and puritanism.

This is one of those very droll, and sometimes bizarre British comedies that is absurdly funny. The plot centers around a couple in the days right before Elizabeth II's coronation and the machinations of a social climbing Maggie Smith who equates pork with prestige. She manages to get her henpecked husband (Michael Palin) to kidnap a pig, and well the rest just needs to be experienced. I thought the movie was hilarious, but I have known others who found it just plain ridiculous. Those who disapprove of bathroom humor need not see this one.

Bizarre and at times disgusting, this is an amusing comedy overall nevertheless, and the performances are simply divine. The best of the cast has to be Denholm Elliott as a rude cynic who places himself above all others, yet is unaware how low he himself stoops at times, but Maggie Smith is a delight too as a snobbish lady, and as her timid husband, Michael Palin has hardly been better. The film is however marred by having too many characters and much too many different individual story lines to follow. It is hard to keep track of who is who and what is what, which distracts from the jokes. The humour itself is a bit hard to grasp at times too, but generally the situations and dialogue stay amusing if not laugh-out-loud funny. Tony Pierce-Roberts, best known for his work with the Merchant-Ivory team, shoots the film well too, with interesting panning shots to aid the film visually. It is not really a brilliant comedy, and some have suggested that British viewers would best enjoy it, but there is enough in it, especially with the acting, for non-British filmgoers to enjoy it to a degree also.

Well you know the story don't you. The pedicurist (Michael Palin) and his social climbing wife (Maggie Smith) live with her mother (Liz Smith) and a pig they've stolen. The pig's smell, naturally, permeates the entire house. When people come in, that's the first thing they notice, the smell and Maggie Smith justifies it by saying "My mother, she's seventy four" I laughed so hard that I had tears running down my face. It's not the line per se the cause of it but its delivery and the faces, the faces of Maggie and Liz Smith. I've been a ardent fan of Maggie Smith all my life and I had a unshakable memory of Liz Smith and Dora Bryan as the British spinsters of Apartment Zero. Here the two Smiths create a subliminal duo that is downright irresistible. Don't miss it.

I am clearly missing this great comedy that all the other reviewers have seen. I was quite looking forward to this movie and normally enjoy the quirky British comedies but this is a huge disappointment. The basic idea of a movie about the food rationing times in the period after World War 2 is good but it is steeply downhill from thereon. The movie has no real story going for it and it is simply not funny at all. The performances all round are pretty average. The only bright side I can think of about this movie is the mother in law. She is a brilliant character and very well played. But that doesn't make up for one of the most boring and pointless movies I have seen for a long time. How could this be nominated for a BAFTA for best movie??

To celebrate my 1,400th review for IMDb I turn to another of my favourite films. One might have thought that the Ealing comedies of the forties and fifties represented a quite different style of humour from that of the Monty Python team of the seventies, and yet the Pythons had a high regard for Ealing and several of them paid tribute to the studio in their post-Python careers. "A Fish Called Wanda", starring John Cleese and Michael Palin, was made by the veteran Ealing director Charles Crichton. The plot of "Splitting Heirs", which starred Eric Idle and Cleese, paid quite deliberate tribute to Robert Hamer's "Kind Hearts and Coronets". And "A Private Function" has close thematic links with "Passport to Pimlico".

Like the earlier film, this one is set against the background of the post-war food rationing system of the late forties. Early on we see a fatuous cinema newsreel from the period, assuring its viewers that the British people, unlike their French neighbours who blatantly bought and sold food on the black market, were happy to accept rationing in the interests of Fair Shares For All. In reality, the system, accepted as a necessity in wartime, had become deeply unpopular in peacetime and the black market flourished in Britain just as much as in France. It is notable that Morris Wormold, the food inspector charged with enforcing the system, is referred to by the other characters as the "Gestapo".

The film is set in a small Yorkshire town in 1947, at the time of the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth (as she then was) to Prince Philip. A group of local businessmen and prominent citizens want to hold a formal dinner to celebrate the occasion, but the food rationing system makes it impossible to obtain enough food legally. They therefore decide to bribe a local farmer to raise an "unlicensed" pig- at this period every pig in the country had to be officially registered to prevent black-marketeering- so that they can feast on roast pork on the great day.

Unfortunately for them, word of their scheme reaches the ears of a third party- not Wormold but Gilbert Chilvers, the town's chiropodist. Although he is an established local tradesman, Gilbert has not been invited to the dinner, largely because Charles Swaby, the local doctor and one of the organisers of the dinner, has taken a dislike to him. Gilbert is a mild-mannered little man who, left to himself, would not really resent this snub, but his snobbish, social-climbing wife Joyce takes it as a personal insult. Goaded on by Joyce, Gilbert comes up with a plan to steal the pig and thereby hold Swaby and his associates to ransom.

The script was written by Alan Bennett, that great observer of English (especially Northern English) lower-middle-class life, who provided some brilliant opportunities for some of the best-known British actors of the period. Michael Palin is today perhaps best-known for his travel documentaries for British television, but in the eighties, after "Monty Python" had come to an end, he was re-inventing himself as a comic actor, and his portrayal of Gilbert, the archetypal "little man", forever put-upon both by a domineering wife and by those who consider themselves his social betters, is one of his finest efforts in this vein, perhaps only equalled by his performance in "The Missionary".

Maggie Smith also excels as Joyce, one of Bennett's finest characters. Joyce is, on the surface, a monstrous bully and snob, but underneath that surface it is clear that her snobbery arises from a sense of insecurity. She is the sort of person whose sense of self-worth is almost entirely defined by what she perceives to be her social standing, and her husband's social standing, in the eyes of society, and who has a massive inferiority complex about her social origins. There is a nice contrast between Joyce and Denholm Elliott's Dr Swaby. Swaby is just as snobbish as Joyce, but his snobbery arises not from an inferiority complex but rather from an equally massive superiority complex.

The other fine performances come from Richard Griffiths as the accountant Henry Allardyce, who develops a strange affection for the pig, Bill Paterson as the officious, humourless functionary Wormold, Pete Postlethwaite as the butcher charged with butchering the pig and Maggie's unrelated namesake Liz Smith as Joyce's half-mad, senile old mother. To say nothing of Betty the pig (or rather pigs, because six different individuals alternated in this role). Maggie (Best Actress) and Liz (Best Supporting Actress) both won acting BAFTAs, as did Elliott for Best Supporting Actor. It is, however, perhaps fortunate for Maggie Smith that BAFTAs are restricted to humans, otherwise Betty might have beaten her to her award.

Predictably, the Academy ignored the film altogether; if they ever saw it the Yorkshire accents probably made them wonder why a foreign- language film was being screened without subtitles. It is, however, a first-rate comedy and one of the best British films of the eighties. Bennett's powers of social observation are very sharp and his script is characterised by great wit and humour. (I recall my girlfriend almost rolling on the ground with laughter when we first saw it together, especially at the antics of the pig). If the Academy had taken it seriously it might even have challenged Milos Forman's wonderful "Amadeus" for "Best Picture". It seems a pity that its director Malcolm Mowbray has not made more feature films; about the only other one I have seen was "The Revengers' Comedies". 10/10

Having heard so many rave reviews I finally got round to catching this on Talking Pictures. Another one chalked off...... Unfortunately this isn't a very funny film and isn't half as clever as it thinks it is.

It's a very simple story, a chiropodist steals an unregistered pig earmarked for a celebration dinner of a royal wedding.

The humour seems to be mainly about social class, social climbing and put upon husbands. That and toilet humour.

Unless you find people in middle class jobs bickering about who is the most important in the social sphere then this will likely disappoint. Ironically it's the middle classes who seem to find this film hilarious even though it's obviously a critique of their lifestyles and values. Strange how people are quick to see faults in others but can't see the same faults in themselves?

Despite having a great cast and writer it's still an unsatisfactory watch. Three stars.....at best.

The 1980s were dark days for the British film industry and productivity was at an unprecedented low. That doesn't mean that there weren't a number of very fine films made during this time. It does mean that they tend to be rather forgotten in what is often described as a period of wilderness for British cinema. This is rather unfair, as there are a number of fine films made during this decade that don't get the attention they should. A Private Function is a case in point.

The cast assembled for the film is simply one of the best I have ever seen in one movie. Look at the cast today and you would say it was star-studded; actually, many of these actors were not especially famous at the time (only Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott and Alison Steadman were really famous actors). Most of the others (Richard Griffiths, Pete Postlethwaite, Jim Carter, Liz Smith, Bill Paterson, Tony Haygarth) have achieved more recognition since. Their obvious talent and future potential was clear to see in this movie. As the fortunes of British films have improved since, their careers have duly flourished.

If the film has a weakness, it is that it is supposed to be a star vehicle for Michael Palin, and yet his character is utterly dull and boring. Palin has proved he is a very capable actor elsewhere and might have impressed more if the kind of effort Bennett put into developing the other characters had also been afforded to Palin's role. This is a minor point though, because the rest of the characters are so well scripted it doesn't seem to matter too much. Palin would probably be the first to admit that the film works because of the script's overall quality (Alan Bennett is simply one of Britain's most incisive comic minds) and because of the wonderful supporting cast, not because of the strength of his own character.

A Private Function is a relatively low budget and uniquely British film. The writing and the acting represent the very best of British cinema. It's a shame it doesn't get more recognition but the gentle wit, eccentric characters and lack of glamour and romance, plus the state the British film industry was in at the time it was made, probably meant that it was never destined to be a blockbuster. It does remain a very funny and at times quite barbed portrait of a particular period in 20th century British history.

World War II may be over, but meat rationing is still in force in England, creating a healthy black market for the stuff. In one ordinary English village everyone seems to be on the fiddle apart from mild-mannered chiropodist Gilbert Chilvers. Gilberts eeks out a quiet living serving the feet of the other villagers, much to the annoyance of his social climbing wife and mother-in-law. However when Gilbert gets wronged by the social elite he decides to betray them by stealing an illegal pig they have been fattening up for a large banquet. But once the deed is done, Gilbert finds it harder to turn into food than he had expected.

Despite an all star British cast, a subject matter close to all English peoples hearts (class) and quite a few funny moments, this film comes off as a rather mixed affair that seems to be unsure of what it is trying to do and thus doesn't manage to hit any of its targets that well. The script seems to want to be full of whimsy while also being a bit of a satire on the middle-classes, but it is too serious to do the former well, and too relaxed and fuzzy to do the latter. This is not to say it is bad because it does have some things going for it but it just managed to get a consistent tone is the problem. The script has some cracking dialogue at times but mainly falls flat – neither being funny nor sharp enough to do anything of value. Backing this up, the film doesn't really have an ending – with the satire being too vague and the producers tacking on a poor final scene just to give the audience a more positive image to go home on.

The cast are good on paper but too few of them really have much to do. Palin is very quiet and, although I know this was what was required of him, he didn't do it that well. Smith is much better and is very scheming and very like a lot of middle class people I know even today – ideas above their station I think would be the condescending way of saying it; they are both well supported by Liz Smith in a comic role. Elliott and Normington are very mercenary having made the top but people like Postlewaite, Griffiths, Paterson and so on are just "there" as opposed to really making an impact.

Overall this is an OK film because, even in missing its targets it still has enough going for it to be worth seeing. Failing as both satire and light comedy, the film still have good elements of both and is an amusing class comedy, but the misses and confusions are evident within the film and it is a bit annoying to see it pull itself in various directions without really ever moving. OK, but nothing more than that.

Why do I love this movie sooooo much. Because it is one of the most delightful movies ever made.

From the opening shots of Dame Maggie Smith and her aged mother (Liz Smith) jostling for space on the Wurlitzer seat to the closing shots of Michael Palin and Richard Griffiths looking sadly at Betty on the platter this is a movie where every scene has something new.

The contents of Michael Palin's lunch box, Richard Griffiths popping his little trotter over the edge of the chair to get a chocolate for Betty, Liz Smith checking her nightgown for malodorous fumes, Bill Paterson and his wonderful artistry with green paint ( don't miss this line its great), Michael Palin's overt Pythonesque chiropodist sign, and Liz Smiths startled look watching him clean it, these are just a taste of the subtle visual and aural moments that make this movie magic (moments that obviously went completely over the head of a previous reviewer).

Alan Bennetts plot is original and actually believable, as snobbery of all kinds can be found alive and well in any nation in the world at any time, and Denholm Elliot and Dame Maggie Smith would have to be crowned the King and Queen of snobbery for their efforts in this.

Many people read some books over and over This is a movie I watch over and over. I have this movie on Video and I shall definitely be buying it on DVD as well

A Private Function (1984) -

This film was a tad slow to start with and not exactly a laugh a minute, but it was sort of fun. Quite typical of British films of the late 1970's and 1980's.

It was definitely not something I should have chosen to watch while eating my dinner, because there are quite a few gross bits that made me urge.

As was to be expected, both Smith's - Maggie and Liz were excellent in their roles and while none of the other actors were bad, they weren't as obviously outstanding as the two ladies.

The humour was subtle to say the least, but not the riot that I had expected from a cast full of such superb comedians and all round performers.

It would be easy to compare it to one of the more extreme and silly episodes of 'Heartbeat' (1992-2010) or 'All Creatures Great And Small' (1978-90), because it was set in a similar environment, with characters akin to Greengrass and Ventriss. The writing also reminded me of Tom Sharpe's work to some degree, in particular the people who populated his 'Blott On The Landscape' book.

I probably wouldn't rush to watch it again, as it didn't tickle me enough, but I could see how it might appeal to people of an older generation. Those perhaps that were at the mercy of rationing and could relate to the desperate want for a good pork chop.

400.89/1000.

This movie already had everything to please me before I even started watching it. Knowing that this was a British comedy, was already enough for me to decide that I wanted to see it, but that it was situated in the first post-WWII years, only made it even more interesting for me. I'm very interested in that time period, but in my opinion there aren't enough good movies about it. However, it's not because I think that I'll like a movie, that I'll automatically give it a good rating. I still need to watch it first.

"A Private Function" is situated in a small town in England in 1947. Even though the war is over for about two years, there still is a rationing of meat and more in particular of pork. The butchers and farmers are severely controlled in order to prevent the start of a black market, but the rules aren't always obeyed. When Princess Elizabeth is going to marry, a local group of businessmen and notables are organizing a party to impress the local government. They have a pig illegally raised and want to slaughter it for the event. But just before the party, the pig is stolen by Gilbert Chilvers on the instigation of his wife and his mother-in-law, who can't live with the idea that they no longer belong to the notables of the community and therefore can't get more meat...

If you like the typical British humor, than this is definitely a movie you shouldn't miss. Especially when they keep the pig in their own house, you can be sure of some hilarious scenes. One reviewer said that you shouldn't watch it when you don't like toilet humor. I'm afraid I can't follow him in that opinion. I don't like that kind of humor at all, but it never was shown in this movie either. It's just insinuated and that's why I could live with it without any problem. Another good reason why you should give this movie a try is the acting. Michael Palin is excellent as the somewhat quiet, but lovable husband who does everything his wife - Maggie Smith plays that role really very well - wants him to do. But the other actors, even though most of them aren't very famous, are very good and interesting to watch.

All in all this is a comedy that deserves a lot more attention than what it has received so far. I really enjoyed watching it and regularly had a good laugh. What more can you possibly want from a comedy? A good story and some fine acting? They are all in it as well and that's why I give this movie a 7.5/10.

This movie is so uninteresting I sincerely doubt it would have made a passable 30-minute sitcom episode. Nothing happens in the whole thing! I didn't find it vulgar, ridiculous, funny, anything- it is simply a waste of time.

"A Private Function" is a dark comedy set in a small town in 1947 England. It has several interwoven plots. They are related to the overall theme of the post-war rationing of bacon and other meat that was in effect in the UK. (Meat rationing in the UK would not end until 1954). The British were excited about the forthcoming wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Phillip on Nov 20.

The main plot is about a community caper. Some men of this small town had planned a private celebration dinner for the occasion. But, for the meal, they had acquired a pig many months prior on the black market. One of them was a local farmer who raised the pig in an enclosure hidden in the woods. They all saved their table scraps for trips out to the woods to feed the pig. They have to stay one step ahead of an overly zealous meat inspector who is shutting down butchers who have been dealing meat in the black market.

Then, weaving in and out of this scenario is a couple who are fairly new to the town. He is a chiropodist, who works mainly on women's feet; and she is a piano teacher. But they are not yet members of the upper society, and she pines for such status. They have not been invited to the upcoming function.

When he discovers the hidden pig, she prods him to steal it, which he does. Over the next day or so, things get quite hectic and smelly in their home with the pig on the loose in the house. Other shenanigans are going on before all of this somewhat works out.

The cast is very good. Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott and Liz Smith won BAFTA awards for their performances. Michael Palin, Richard Griffiths, Pete Postlethwaite and Tony Haygarth lead the rest of a very good supporting cast.

This is not a film of witty and funny dialog. It is mostly tongue-in-cheek humor or very wry humor. It's has crude and crass segments that, I think, detract from the film. Not everyone will enjoy this type of film, and it isn't a family picture by any means.

Here are the best lines in the film.

Henry Allardyce, "Are we doing wrong, Frank?" Frank Lockwood, "Of course we're doing wrong. It's a crime." Allardyce, "I've never committed a crime before." Lockwood, "Thought you were an accountant."

Joyce Chilvers, " I want a future that will live up too my past. But when's it going to start?"

Joyce Chilvers, "It's not just pork, Gilbert. It's power."

This is one of those priceless British films where the comedy is so delightful. Maggie Smith, as usual, is perfect in her role of the snobbish woman. Michael Palin is equally perfect as her befuddled hen-pecked husband. The humor is absolutely top-notch.

Life after WWII was bleak in England. Rationing was hitting hard, but spirits were lifted by the forthcoming royal marriage of Elizabeth and Philip. This slice of village life takes a poke at stiff England and the trials and tribulations of getting a slap up feast on the table for the local VIPs to celebrate the marriage. Michael Palin is the wimp, and marvellous Maggie Smith is the "trousers" in the relationship. Lots of lovely one-liners to treasure.

One of the funniest comedies to come across the Atlantic in a long, long time. Maggie is magnificent. This movie will go right over the heads of teenie booopers with less than a high school education, but for the enlightened world this is a gem.

Full anamorphic widescreen, DTS and Dolby sound plus an audio narration by Alan Bennett, Malcolm Mowbray (director) and Michael Palin. Gorgeous! It's taken many years for Anchor Bay to get this film on DVD, but now I can relegate my VHS to the bin. The sound is so clear not you can hear all those one-liners clearly again!

This is a film that will stay with you for a long time, the one liners are classic Brit of the era. A collaboration of some of Britains best artists and delightfully done. Maggie Smith and Michael Palin produce some priceless moments as a Nen pecked Husband and his controlling wife. Denholm Elliot who's character oozes slippery snobbishness as only the English can do is superb. This is a movie to own and watch with guests after a great afternoon of eating and drinking together, preferably a roast with lots of good New Zealand wine. A couple of saucy bits mostly in the mind make it racy in an OK way, the mirror scene had mt father in law in stitches for ages after. Films like this make it worthwhile having a film industry and the creative process that produced it can only be applauded. Well Done MikeNZ

Set in rural England in 1947, "A Prvate Function" centers around Michael Palin, a podiatrist, who moves to a smallish Yorkshire town with his social climbing wife, Maggie Smith, and aged and dotty mother-in-law, Liz Smith. The leading professional men in the town are organizing a celebration dinner on the occasion of the marriage of Princess Elizabeth and the Danish-Greek Prince Phillip. The only problem with the banquet is that food rationing is very much in force, yet "Pork Royale" is the centerpiece dish to be served to 150 chosen guests. This requires collusion with a local farmer and a dishonest butcher (Pete Postlethwaite), a conspiracy among the afore-mentioned local businessmen, and a game of cat-and-mouse between the forces of Pork Royale and the government meat inspector, sprightly played straight-faced by Bill Paterson.

Into to this setting of complex machinations stumbles "foot doctor" MIchael Palin, to find himself shunned and insulted by the haughty medical doctor in town, played superbly by Denholm Eliot, and subsequently railroaded out of his new "surgery" on "The Parade" (the posh main street). The Worm turns, and revenge is vowed: hilarity ensues.