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Amazon.co.uk Review
Dating from 1976, The Likely Lads belongs to an often-reviled genre--the feature-length spin-off from the 1970s sitcom. However, these were often a great deal better than TV purists make them out to be. The Dad's Army film, for example, more than measures up to the original series, the first Steptoe and Son movie is as sublime as any 1960s kitchen sink drama and much funnier, while this incarnation of The Likely Lads reaches heights of hilarity not even scaled by the splendid sitcom from which it was derived.
Starring Rodney Bewes as Bob and James Bolam as Terry, this is an aimless but endlessly entertaining saga that takes in a calamitous caravan holiday in drizzly Northumbria, a farcical escapade in a seaside guest house and innumerable minor capers in between. The real business here, however, is in Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais' script and characterisation. Most of their best work involves men in confinement of some sort (Porridge, Auf Wiedersehen Pet) and here it's Bob who finds himself timidly chafing at the clutches of domestic "bliss" as personified by wife Thelma (played magnificently and underratedly by Brigit Forsyth, avoiding all the usual battleaxe clichés). He's jealous of the footloose Terry, even though the latter is clearly frustrated at his rootless existence ("I've learned nothing. Y'know what it'll say on my gravestone? "None the Bloody Wiser"!"). Beyond a mere nostalgia-fest, this is vintage, essential Brit-comedy.
On the DVD: The Likely Lads is presented in widescreen 1.78:1. Unfortunately, this comedic milestone comes only with the original trailer by way of extras. --David Stubbs
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Likely Lads was inspired by the popular British television series of the same name. Returning to their TV roles after an absence of several years are Rodney Bewes and James Bolam, playing a pair of Northern English screw-ups. With their girl friends in tow, Bewes and Bolam embark on a motor trip, running into one comic dilemma after another.; ...The Likely Lads - Telemovie
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
For a short period in the early/mid 1970s there was a boom in spin-off cinema features from popular British television series - a tradition which had developed much earlier with radio series such as Inspector Hornleigh before the Second World War. Most of these spin-off films were unfairly maligned by critics at the time (as indeed were the Carry On films). The Likely Lads (from 1964 BBC series The Likely Lads and 1970s sequel Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads) is a prime example of this little celebrated phenomenon. Central to the story is writers Clement and La Frenais' strong and likeable characterisations of Bob and Terry and their bonding with the changing Tyneside landscape - Bob, now an upwardly mobile surveyor, married to Thelma and settling down with a mortgage on the Elm Lodge Housing Estate. By contrast, Terry, divorced, carefree, living in a high-rise council flat chasing after au pair girls.. The one liners crackle thick and fast and the observational commentary, as with the series, is spot on. The characters benefit from the opening out of storyline enabled by the cinema format. Best line from Bob: 'In the chocolate box of life the top layer has already gone and someone's pinched the orange cream from the bottom'. Highly recommended for fans and those that have never seen the series alike.
36 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The Likely Lads film arises from the 1970's practice of adapting popular sitcoms of the day into movies, a very dangerous thing to do for the fans of those particular shows.
The success of half hour sitcoms on television does not necessarily transfer well to film, the movie world is littered with many such failures, fortunately The Likely Lads is one of the better efforts.
It could be a coincidence that my three favourite sitcom -into- film adaptations, The Likely Lads, Porridge and Steptoe and Son Ride Again are all written by their original creators/writers, maybe that's what puts them above the rest.
The Likely Lads film isn't perfect however, it's a little unstructured and it seems to run out of steam about the 70 minute mark and a new plotline is somewhat clumsily tacked on to pad the film out a bit, also no attempt has been made to match the locations and sets to the television series to create the feeling of continuation, but then this is nothing new in feature adaptations.
The film has many good points however such as the always brilliant performances of Rodney Bewes, James Bolam and Brigit Forsyth, the directing is very good and the feeling of nostalgia for the 1970's is everpresent, and of course it marked the end of an era in that it was the last ever instalment of the Likely Lads to be filmed, so is quite historic in that respect. In short it is a warm, cosy little film perfect for those cold drizzly winter nights and for those of us that have 86 minutes to kill, really rather nice in fact.
The success of half hour sitcoms on television does not necessarily transfer well to film, the movie world is littered with many such failures, fortunately The Likely Lads is one of the better efforts.
It could be a coincidence that my three favourite sitcom -into- film adaptations, The Likely Lads, Porridge and Steptoe and Son Ride Again are all written by their original creators/writers, maybe that's what puts them above the rest.
The Likely Lads film isn't perfect however, it's a little unstructured and it seems to run out of steam about the 70 minute mark and a new plotline is somewhat clumsily tacked on to pad the film out a bit, also no attempt has been made to match the locations and sets to the television series to create the feeling of continuation, but then this is nothing new in feature adaptations.
The film has many good points however such as the always brilliant performances of Rodney Bewes, James Bolam and Brigit Forsyth, the directing is very good and the feeling of nostalgia for the 1970's is everpresent, and of course it marked the end of an era in that it was the last ever instalment of the Likely Lads to be filmed, so is quite historic in that respect. In short it is a warm, cosy little film perfect for those cold drizzly winter nights and for those of us that have 86 minutes to kill, really rather nice in fact.
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Whilst a few of the British sitcoms that were transferrred to the big screen came unstuck because they tried to throw the characters into completely different situations (Are you being served), The Likely Lads is a film that embraces all the themes that made the 'Whatever Happened to' series such a great success. The melancholy whistfulness of the romantic Bob plays brilliantly against the (often)cynical Terry as they get themselves involved in the two main plots that develop through the story. The film is a joy and anyone who felt pangs of regret at seeing the last episode of the series should be pleased to find the film is basically the equivalent of another three episodes. There is no rehashing of TV scripts, so this film is further canon for the enthusiast. The characters have moved on a little but Bob and Thelma still have their ever precarious relationship for Terry to test. For her part Thelma plays matchmaker for Terry with enlightening results. Later, when a misunderstanding leads Bob to leave his wife, or vice versa, Terry has to console his friend but it isn't long before Bob is practically forcing Terry to embrace the freedom of being single again. The two likely lads embark on the sort of activities we saw in the earliest TV series. Terry of course knows that Bob will regret it all in the morning. The film is brilliantly performed throughout and doesn't flag at all. The script, as you would expect from Clement and La Frenais, sparkles. It's a warm film that takes those moments of melancholy and regret that we have all felt and finds the humour within. I can't recommend it highly enough.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Gone but not forgotten
This film version of what has become a classic TV series loses a bit in translation but gains a bit in other ways. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Tyke
Early Likely Lads
Forerunner to The Likely Lads this 2 disc set is from 1964 to 1966 and is a slice of 1960s Northern working class life. Gritty,realistic and very funny.
Published 3 months ago by Mr. Robert Brown
Good TV Movie
A decent movie of the acclaimed drama, Whatever Happended to the Likely Lads. As for as movie remakes from sitcoms go, this is up there with Porridge and Rising Damp. Read more
Published 7 months ago by N. Blaney
Bob and Terry hit the big screen with typically miserable glee.
A big screen outing for likely lads Rodney Bewes and James Bolam, it's a spin off from the popular TV shows that the two made in the 60's and 70's. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Spike Owen
Not for me
I'm pleased to be able to say that James Bolam has improved.
Trite subject matter, poorly written scripts and very slow.
Lacked decent direction.
Trite subject matter, poorly written scripts and very slow.
Lacked decent direction.
Published 13 months ago by Memory Lane
Good but not as good as the TV programme
Give this movie a go if you are a fan of the Likely Lads. Like most TV programmes that get made into a movie I think the TV programmes were better but this movie was still good for... Read more
Published 16 months ago by D. Mitchell
Should Be On The National Curriculum
Okay, let's be brutal - this is never going to challenge 'The Godfather' for Best Movie Of The Seventies. Actually, it may not make it into a Seventies' Top 100... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Ivan Zehdra-Maychayne
A taste of nostalgia
Decided to buy all of these DVDs after I saw the 'Whatever Happened' series on 'Gold' and it brought back memories of when I saw it the first time round, back in the 60s and 70s. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mrs. C. A. Davies
Likely Lads film
Had to buy the film just to complete the entire set.
The film is brilliant with the " under the thumb " BOB being led astray as always by carefree TERRY. Read more
The film is brilliant with the " under the thumb " BOB being led astray as always by carefree TERRY. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Blade1889
What happened to you,..
whatever happened to me, what became of the theme tune, the plot etc.
Sorry, but just not up to scratch compared to the series. Read more
Sorry, but just not up to scratch compared to the series. Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2009 by Fraser the Frank Fish
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