Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases


Laughterhouse (1984)

Director: Richard Eyre

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

When one of farmer Holm's pluckers loses a joint off his finger in the plucking machine and the TGWU block the transport of his Christmas geese to market, he determines to take them on foot from Norfolk to Smithfield. The anti-union stance is soon conveniently dropped as the trek turns into a protest against factory farming, with another bunch of media shits (cf The Ploughman's Lunch) tagging along for the story. Presumably intended as a tribute to the continuing virtues of British pluck, the result is rather more off-putting than stirring. The main problem is that Eyre, as in the past, seems unable to invest his characters with a modicum of sympathy. That the film should have been 'inspired' by Howard Hawks' Red River is a point best glossed over. Comparisons are indeed odious.

Author: JP

Time Out Film Guide


What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields




Most popular on this site


Top Stories

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?

The 10 worst date movies

The 10 worst date movies

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas

10 unlikely badboy biopics

10 unlikely badboy biopics

Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing