The Match (1999)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Mick Davis

Writer (WGA):

Mick Davis (written by)

Release Date:

13 August 1999 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

It's a game of two pubs!

Plot:

Two Scottish pub soccer teams play each other in order to resolve a century-old grudge. Whoever wins the game gets to keep the other team's pub.

Plot Keywords:

Soccer | Wager | Soccer Football | Flashback Sequence | Independent Film

Cast

Max Beesley	...	Wullie Smith
Isla Blair	...	Sheila Bailey
James Cosmo	...	Billy Bailey
Laura Fraser	...	Rosemary Bailey
Richard E. Grant	...	Gorgeous Gus
David Hayman	...	Scrapper
Ian Holm	...	Big Tam
Neil Morrissey	...	Piss-Off
David O'Hara	...	Mechanic
Bill Paterson	...	Tommy
Iain Robertson	...	Danny Van Boy
Tom Sizemore	...	Buffalo
Sally Howitt	...	Carol McGhee
Michael Nardone	...	Dingus
Samantha Fox	...	Patsy (as Sam Fox)

Also Known As:

The Beautiful Game (UK)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Loch Lomond, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK

Company:

Allan Scott Productions

Movie Connections:

References Per un pugno di dollari (1964)

Soundtrack:

You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet

A reasonably enjoyable film – not quite The Full Monty but watchable

Scottish milkman Wuille's life is in a bit of turmoil. His sweetheart has returned to the village and his local pub is at risk from being shut down as a result of a century old bet with another pub to win a football match. With his pub's group of thugs seemingly having no chance Wuille decides to move his life on by making his feelings clear to Shelia and coaching his team to victory.

With the success of The Full Monty, everyone wanted to make a British comedy that would cost little but hit big. The Match is one of those attempted clones but it doesn't quite work as well as it could do. The plot is promising but little of it carries through. The subplots and history behind the main characters isn't really followed – for example the loss of Wuille's brother or the relationship with Shelia, neither are fully explored.

The comedy is of the amusing but not hilarious type with some good characters but nothing to write home about. There are no jokes that really stand out and rather the film has a general air of being bemused rather than funny. It all makes for a watchable film that will quickly fade from your memory. The use of music makes it feel like every other Brit comedy of recent memory, the tunes of nice but it just sticking to the formula and shows no real evidence of invention.

The cast are OK but don't really stand out, they are all pretty average. Beesley is an average lead but love interest Blair does little but look pretty (although she does do it well!). Grant is camp and OTT but is good value. The cast of the two pubs are easily drawn comedy characters but none of the cameos really work. Sam Fox is nice to look at but does nothing, Shearer is simply pointless, Ian Holm is miscast but Brosnan is reasonable as he appears to be mocking his involvement a little!

It doesn't really work but the gentle air of predictable amusement is just enough to make this light enough to pass 90 minutes. Just don't expect anything more than that – there is a reason why this was not a global sleeper hit.