How can you summarise Lisa Lynch and her brutally honest yet outrageously funny cancer blog in a 90-minute film? Well, you can't. Her one-liners alone could fill a TV series or five. So it's just as well the makers of The C Word didn't try; instead, they showed us the story behind the ballsy humour — the heartbreak and frustration coupled with love that can't be destroyed by "The Bullsh*t".
The C Word takes us on a journey of stark contrasts. On the one hand, we have a young, beautiful woman in her prime, enjoying newly married life, parties, music and friends; on the other, we watch as The Bullsh*t wreaks havoc with her life, robbing her of friends she has just made and stopping her from doing the things we take for granted, like taking a bath unaided and nipping out to the shops. The film oscillates between these two extremes, reminding us just how cruel cancer is.
Sheridan Smith delivers yet again, allowing you to believe for those 90 minutes that she is Lisa Lynch. However, she is not alone — this is a top-class cast, from Paul Nicholls who delivers a brilliantly understated yet powerful performance as Lisa's husband Pete, to Kris Hallenga, appearing as herself in the only fictional but oh-so-right part of the story.
Do watch this film. Then read the book and the blog. As I've already mentioned, this is a heavily distilled version of events, and you haven't lived until you've read the one about the ginger-pube eyelashes. There are still plenty of gags though. And Louboutins. Which I now know are not pronounced 'La-boot-ins'. One more thing to thank Lisa for.
