Ian Lindsay Movies

Returning home from a European vacation, a newly bearded Tony (Neil Morrissey) is shocked at the tidiness of his apartment in "Hair," the fifth-season opener of Men Behaving Badly. The shock may be doubled when roommate Gary (Martin Clunes) has to tell Tony that he'll have to move out now that Gary's girlfriend, Dorothy (Caroline Quentin), has moved in. In the season's second episode, "The Good Pub Guide," Gary and Tony are appalled that their favorite pub has been redecorated under new management and seek a way to recapture the ambience of their old watering hole. In "Cowardice," Gary tries to make up for his timidity with an angry driver while both Gary and Tony wonder if upstairs neighbor Deborah's (Leslie Ash) friend is gay. "Your Mate vs. Your Bird" finds Tony applying a tattoo to himself and Gary making an important decision vis-à-vis his girlfriend. "Cardigan" has Gary worried about the onslaught of middle age, culminating in a riotous night on the town. In "Rich and Fat," Tony goes on a crash diet and also reveals the size of Gary's bank account to anyone who'll listen. Season five concludes with "Home-Made Sauna," a round robin of weekend seductions and faulty plumbing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having shifted networks from ITV to BBC, Men Behaving Badly opens its third season with the episode "Lovers," in which Gary (Martin Clunes) hopes to impress girlfriend Dorothy(Caroline Quentin) with his "vast" sexual experience, while Gary's lodger, Tony (Neil Morrissey), prepares to swoop down and claim upstairs neighbor Deborah (Leslie Ash), who has recently split up with her beau. The next episode, "Bed," is set in motion when Deborah suffers indigestion after one of Gary's exotic meals and ends up with Tony braving a heavy windstorm to mollify the ailing girl. "Casualties" finds Gary and Tony going to ridiculous lengths to keep Deborah from selling her flat and moving out of town. "Weekend" begins with Gary and Dorothy discussing their sexual fantasies and culminates with Tony landing a job as a bartender. In "Cleaning Lady," Dorothy regrets her demand that Gary hire someone to tidy up his messy flat, while Tony makes a somewhat radical job switch. And in the season's final episode, "Marriage," Gary tries to weasel out of his proposal to Dorothy while Tony uses electronic surveillance to find out why Deborah is attracted to someone else. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The premise of the British sitcom Men Behaving Badly is swiftly established in the opening episode "Intruders": Apartment owner Gary (Martin Clunes) must put up with loutish lodger Dermot (Harry Enfield) if he wants to meet the monthly mortgage -- for which, alas, Dermot never seems to have the necessary funds. In the five episodes that follow, the point is hilariously driven home that Gary and Dermot are about a copacetic a combination as oil and water. In "The Bet," the roommates play a chess game to determine who will be allowed to go out and score a few "birds"; in "Alarms and Setbacks," Gary installs a burglar alarm in hopes of making a good impression on upstairs neighbor Deborah (Leslie Ash); in "Animals," Gary's new "open relationship" with girlfriend Dorothy (Caroline Quentin) sets Dermot atingle with carnal fantasies; in "Sex and Violence," Dermot hopes that a candlelight dinner will have Deborah saying "Yes, yes, yes;" and in "My Brilliant Career," Dermot is fired while Gary mistakenly thinks that he's gotten a new position (which may well turn out to be horizontal!). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theatres in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to the seamstress title character (Sarah Pickering), who chooses to live in debtor's prison with her father (Alec Guinness). Good samaritan Derek Jacobi endeavors to help both father and daughter. The second part, also known as "Little Dorrit's Story," details Dorrit's escape from penury to lasting happiness. Eschewing the usual 19th century-style British music often heard in Dickensian adaptations, director Christine Edzard creatively-and effectively--opts for the strains of Giuseppe Verdi. Edzard's eye for period detail is also deserving of unbounded praise. Unfortunately, Part Two of Little Dorrit spends nearly half of its running time recapping Part One, utilizing much of the same footage. For those familiar with "Nobody's Fault," "Little Dorrit's Story" is more a redundancy than a continuation. Still, taken together, parts one and two all fully deserving of the enthusiastic critical commentary that greeted them upon their original release-not to mention the multiple Academy Award nominations bestowed upon the project and its participants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide