Lord of Misrule

Writer/director Guy Jenkin successfully synthesizes a variety of English social, political and cultural themes in this 1996 British TV film. The end product is somewhat like a sophisticated Brian Rix farce. No one loses their pants, but this is a delightful way to pass a couple of hours.

Viewers are served with a very full plate. There's family angst, British political intrigue, MI5 agents, pagan rites, cannabis smuggling, the gutter press, and the disappearing English fishing industry -- and it's all served on the colorful backdrop of a delightful southwestern coastal town.

The cast is impressive. Viewers are treated with an opportunity to see one of Pat Hayes' last performances. James Fleet (Vicar of Dibley) plays a smooth-talking Tory Prime Minister who eerily resembles Tony Blair -- Fleet's NHS TV ad is particularly well done. Richard Wilson (One Foot in the Grave) is excellent as the cranky family patriarch and disaffected ex-Lord Chancellor who has the ability to topple a large part of the English Establishment. Prunella Scales (Fawlty Towers) plays the Government's Minister of Fisheries who is sent to make Wison's character, Bill Webster, see some sense. Angus Deayton plays a delightful cameo as the head of MI5, swinging golf balls at Japanese tourists on the Thames. Martin Clunes (Men Behaving Badly) briefly appears as the Minister of Defense. and there's a surprise appearance by old Labour stalwart Dennis Healey.

OK, so you'll never see a British PM wrestling with Sun journalists in a duckpond over a briefcase containing 500,000 UKP -- the price of the PM's Singapore secrets and Cabinet Members' indiscretions -- but that does not detract from a well written, well acted, typically English comedy, which won a comedic award for Hat Trick Productions. Just one criticism though. Richard Wilson's hairpiece is awful!

I loved this comedy when i saw it in 1996-1997. Have never seen it repeated since anywhere on TV which is a shame as my VHS copy has almost worn out. So many sub plots which all seem to gel plus one-liners and visual jokes add to the appeal of this one off "dromedy". Fantastic setting as well ( around Fowey in Cornwall i seem to remember).Surely it will be shown again on TV somewhere or even made available to purchase commercially. No need to give any comments on the plot(s) as they have been admirably covered elsewhere.The casting was inspired with some top-notch actors coming together to keep it flowing. Its great,i loved it and cant wait to see it again, as you may have guessed!.

It's a thoroughly enjoyable BBC 90s comedy film. The politics portrayed within it are equally pertinent today. The casting is fantastic and you would recognise many faces in more recent dramas so that it doesn't feel too dated. There are some absolutely hilarious jokes that may not be too PC now but then that's the thing about adult comedy.