Film

House! (1999)

Director: Julian Kemp

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

This first feature is an unashamed stab at recapturing the magic of Ealing. And while the disarming innocence of '40s and '50s cinema is absent, the feelgood theme - the underdog triumphing against the odds - is reassuringly familiar. The film is set in a small town in S Wales, where the bingo hall is besieged on all sides. Not only are council inspectors threatening to demolish the building, but, less than a mile up the valley, the UK's biggest bingo arena is about to open. Employee Linda (Macdonald) is desperate: her job's on the line, debts are mounting, and porcine Aunt Beth (Margolyes) is threatening to sell her house. To make matters worse, she catches her boyfriend, bingo caller Gavin (Hughes), buried chin-first in the bosom of her friend Kay (Smith). Then Linda discovers she has an unexpected talent - the ability to predict numbers before they're called and rig the results. With the introduction of a supernatural element, the storytelling becomes too self-consciously whimsical. Nevertheless, there's charm to spare, and the spirited direction and likeable cast more than make up for the film's shortcomings, not least the mindlessly upbeat ending.

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