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The Revengers' Comedies

  • 1998
  • PG-13
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
The Revengers' Comedies (1998)
Trailer
Play trailer1:09
1 Video
24 Photos
Dark ComedySatireComedyRomance

Henry is about to jump off a bridge when he hears a cry for help. He helps Karen, who had also planned suicide. They're both on Tower Bridge, London, because somebody wronged them. Revenging... Read allHenry is about to jump off a bridge when he hears a cry for help. He helps Karen, who had also planned suicide. They're both on Tower Bridge, London, because somebody wronged them. Revenging each other gives them a reason to live.Henry is about to jump off a bridge when he hears a cry for help. He helps Karen, who had also planned suicide. They're both on Tower Bridge, London, because somebody wronged them. Revenging each other gives them a reason to live.

  • Director
    • Malcolm Mowbray
  • Writers
    • Alan Ayckbourn
    • Malcolm Mowbray
  • Stars
    • Sam Neill
    • Helena Bonham Carter
    • Kristin Scott Thomas
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    1.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Malcolm Mowbray
    • Writers
      • Alan Ayckbourn
      • Malcolm Mowbray
    • Stars
      • Sam Neill
      • Helena Bonham Carter
      • Kristin Scott Thomas
    • 23User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Sweet Revenge
    Trailer 1:09
    Sweet Revenge

    Photos23

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    Top cast16

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    Sam Neill
    Sam Neill
    • Henry Bell
    Helena Bonham Carter
    Helena Bonham Carter
    • Karen Knightly
    Kristin Scott Thomas
    Kristin Scott Thomas
    • Imogen Staxton-Billing
    Rupert Graves
    Rupert Graves
    • Oliver Knightly
    Martin Clunes
    Martin Clunes
    • Anthony Staxton-Billing
    Steve Coogan
    Steve Coogan
    • Bruce Tick
    John Wood
    John Wood
    • Col. Marcus
    Liz Smith
    Liz Smith
    • Winnie
    Anita Dobson
    Anita Dobson
    • Daphne Teal
    Charlotte Coleman
    Charlotte Coleman
    • Norma
    Adrian Scarborough
    Adrian Scarborough
    • Percy Cutting
    Sandra Reinton
    • Hilary Tick
    Zoe Hilson
    • Lydia
    Jamie O'Brien
    • Damien Tick
    François Domange
    • Wine Waiter
    Dicken Ashworth
    Dicken Ashworth
    • Lorry Driver
    • Director
      • Malcolm Mowbray
    • Writers
      • Alan Ayckbourn
      • Malcolm Mowbray
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews23

    6.11.9K
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    Featured reviews

    6=G=

    For lovers of the British wit.

    "Sweet Revenge" tells of a suicidal man (Neill) and woman (Carter) who meet on a London bridge and hatch a plot to dispose of the trouble-maker in each other's life. The film is a delightful British romp full of stodginess, stuffiness, silliness, and very dry British humor. Those with a taste for British wit will likely find this a fun comedy while those with no such taste will find it dull.
    7robin-414

    Enjoyable, but miscast

    I like this movie, and when I was in the habit of watching films, or sections of them, over and again, this was a favourite of mine to dip into. It has some very good moments, for the reason of being both funny and very well acted. I'd heard the play in a lengthier form on the radio some years before, so I was familiar with the story, and I was pleased to see Steve Coogan in an early film role (he is horribly wonderful as Bruce Tick). However, something about the film has always bothered me, and it actually only occurred to me very recently just what it is. It is that all of the young male leads are in the wrong roles. I just can't believe that Sam Neil would even consider the option of suicide (not a giveaway - this is the beginning of the film). Martin Clunes would have been better as Henry Bell - but it was the central role, and Sam Neil was the bigger name. Helena Bonham-Carter has lots of fun playing the psychotic woman. Utterly convincing, and it's easy to see why poor old Henry gets mixed up with her. The Revengers Comedies (Sweet Revenge is a better title for this movie)is not a classic, but it's better than a lot of recent British comedy films, and is a faint echo of a craft in which we once excelled, a long time ago.
    5merklekranz

    Mish-mash misfire......

    If you view a great British comedy in the right mood, it can be a splendid evenings entertainment. First you have to get past the dialect, and the faster the lines are delivered, the more challenging this becomes. However, if the laughs are there they will come through loud and clear. Unfortunately this is not the case with "Sweet Revenge". This totally predictable and uninspired effort, fails on several levels. The punchlines are telegraphed well in advance. The script is in many places more mean spirited than funny. Do yourself a favor. If you want to see a wonderful, dark, British comedy, seek out "Car Trouble" and skip this one. - MERK
    8ktmphd

    This defines droll.

    If you want to know what people mean when they say the British are superb in creating droll comedies and you do not know what they are talking about, watch this movie! You also get the benefit of seeing a movie that gives new meanings to words like ironic, satiric, quaint, bucolic, whimsical and hilarious.

    The three leads are superb, but watch for the secondary leads, such as the boss who gets the axe by his wife due to his being set up, or the husband who gets shot by accident and everyone is ecstatic or, best of all, the head housekeeper who is taking two or three years to break in her replacement.

    Get it, rent it, do whatever you need to do to see it and laugh. Then sit around as I am with impatience waiting for the sequel.
    8FlickJunkie-2

    A smart British comedy. Helena Bonham Carter steals the show.

    British humor is distinctly different from American humor and this film illustrates that point nicely. American humor hits you with a sledgehammer, with outrageous gags and extremely explicit content. British humor is full of innuendo, irony and subtlety. It is thoughtful wit, full of `aha!' moments. This is why Americans often refer to British humor as being dry, mostly because we don't like pondering over our comedy. We prefer a guffaw to a good snicker.

    In this film, Karen (Helena Bonham Carter) and Henry (Sam Neill) meet one night on a bridge where they both went to commit suicide. Henry is interrupted from jumping by the cries of Karen who has botched her attempt. After he saves her, they commiserate and decide that getting revenge would be better than committing suicide. They make a pact where each of them agrees to even the score for the other with their respective objects of contempt.

    Karen becomes a secretary to Henry's old boss (Steve Coogan) and proceeds to make his life a living hell, convincing his wife he is having an affair. Henry's target is Imogen (Kristen Scott Thomas), whom Karen hates because she stole her husband back from Karen, with whom he was having an affair. The film is replete with highbrow humor that you would only see in an English film. There is plenty of class-warfare comedy poking fun at the aristocracy.

    Helena Bonham Cater is brilliantly droll as the diabolical Karen. She is deliciously evil as she cunningly plots Bruce's demise. Long known as a terrific dramatic actor, Bonham Carter shows here that she can convert that energy into an intensely offbeat and funny character with equal impact. Sam Neill is also entertaining as Henry, a bumbling victim of fate who allows himself to be swept along by circumstances. Kristin Scott Thomas does a superb job of portraying Imogen, a woman steeped in affectation and arrogance, who ultimately becomes a casualty of love.

    This highly entertaining film requires a certain refined sense of humor to enjoy. I rated it an 8/10. It will lack punch for the average viewer, but for the viewer who enjoys subtlety and irony it will be amusing and enjoyable.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      This movie counts the second time Helena Bonham Carter and Rupert Graves have played sister and brother. They previously portrayed siblings Lucy and Freddy Honeychurch in A Room with a View (1985).
    • Quotes

      Anthony Staxton-Billing: Stay away from my horses, my cows, my pigs, and keep well clear of my wife!

    • Connections
      Referenced in Jersey Girl (2004)
    • Soundtracks
      Relax
      by Frankie Goes to Hollywood

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • January 13, 1999 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • France
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Sweet Revenge
    • Filming locations
      • Tower Bridge, London, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Artisan Films
      • Arts Council of England
      • BBC Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 26 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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