There's Only One Jimmy Grimble (2000)

When I watched the film for the first ever time I was quite frankly scared. This was because of the fact I knew exactly what was going to happen. Its not that the film gives too much away, it's more the fact that the film is so poorly scripted and is so obvious. Even with such a bad storyline I am sure that it could have been a better film.Overall the acting was not too bad but the rest of the film was awful. The reason I say this is that some of the aspects of the film were totally unrealistic, and to say that the film is about football it appears that no one on the production team had ever seen it before.Some good points to take from the film are the performances of Robert Carlyle and Ben Miller.My advice, don't watch the film, ever.

Why is it that the world's greatest sport continually fails to shine on the silver screen? This was going to be the football "Billy Elliott", but it never quite worked. The excellent cast merely go through the motions in this cliched tale. Still it has a charm, and moves merrily along. If you ever read Roy of the Rovers and Billy's Boots you'll enjoy this.

A bit unfair to criticize this film too much, it's set up like a British made for television feature (low budget, authentic grotty settings, ludicrous phony snow on the streets) and is clearly intended for a young audience. This must be the only Britflick I've seen lately that doesn't use the "f" or "c" words. In the end I felt good about it, despite the predictable progress of the plot and the heavyhanded "moral of the story" moments. The viewer will enjoy this more if he/she is up on British footballing culture, and the accents are much thicker than on Coronation Street, so you have been warned. Good cast, though every part except Jimmy Grimble himself is underwritten. McKee is gorgeous (but who buys her as a slutty single Mum?) and Carlyle takes a minimalist approach to a role that's already fairly thin on paper. Winstone is a wonderful presence without much to do, and the football scenes are more believable than in most pictures (except for the final moments, in which Jimmy is either 100 yards offside or the entire opposition took an actor's union tea break).

It was as long ago as March 2001 that I first saw There's Only One Jimmy Grimble during its short-lived run in movie theatres across Canada, and I feel lucky that I did. Coming as it did in the wake of Billy Elliot, I didn't know what to expect. What I saw was a clever, touching, fast-paced film with a hero every bit as appealing as Jamie Bell in the person of Lewis McKenzie, who plays the title character. In fact the entire cast was excellent. The adult actors play their roles very honestly, passionately in some cases, and yet they don't eclipse Lewis McKenzie who never puts a foot wrong. You find yourself caring very intensely about the ups and downs in his life, and although the plot is somewhat predictable, getting there is more than half the fun. Also, for those who appreciate the deft use of soundtrack to enhance a film, you'll be most impressed. A note however to those who are considering the film and who aren't familiar with the Manchester accent or with British professional football (soccer) -- and I don't think this qualifies as a spoiler. It wasn't until my second viewing that everything fell into place, and only thanks to some research in the interval. A lot of the dialogue and plot revolves around the rivalry that exists in Manchester between its two professional football clubs - Manchester United (often referred to as ManU or "Red" after their team colours) and Manchester City (ManCity, City, or "Blue"). Jimmy is a fan of the latter, a team that has seen better days, and goes whenever he can to their matches at the stadium located on (and therefore known as) Maine Road (?). This rivalry accounts in large part for the animosity between him and Gorgeous Gordon Burley and references to it often appear in the dialogue, making the accent even more impenetrable than it need be. Bear this in mind and go see Jimmy Grimble. The accents needn't scare you: even after my first viewing I knew that the movie, like Jimmy himself, was a winner.