A Private Function (1985)

So says Michael Palin after his wife Maggie Smith thrusts a knife into his hands, demanding that he kill the filthy beast making a mess in their middle class home. It is just after the war and there is a meat shortage. Butchers close faster than they open and some are accused of passing if horse as beef. Smith is a bit of a social climber here, trying too hard to impress those who are in a higher class. Neighbors suspect something is up as the odor from their house is unbearable. In fact, the pig is seen urinating, but fortunately, the audience is spared the sight of it defacating. In short, this is a black comedy that may not be for all tastes, especially those who don't eat pork.After their teaming in "The Missionary", Palin and Smith were reunited for this strange comedy where the goal seems to be about making the audience sit gaping. As always, Smith is center of attention, but even she has a difficult time holding court when Liz Smith is on as her somewhat senile mother. Palin is delightfully droll, and Denholm Elliott and Richard Griffiths add authority. I really had a difficult time in tying to perceive what the film was trying to say, but had a hard time in finding fault with the darkness of the situation. So while I don't think I ever venture back in watching this again, I still recommend it for its performances, especially the two Smiths.

This movie already had everything to please me before I even started watching it. Knowing that this was a British comedy, was already enough for me to decide that I wanted to see it, but that it was situated in the first post-WWII years, only made it even more interesting for me. I'm very interested in that time period, but in my opinion there aren't enough good movies about it. However, it's not because I think that I'll like a movie, that I'll automatically give it a good rating. I still need to watch it first."A Private Function" is situated in a small town in England in 1947. Even though the war is over for about two years, there still is a rationing of meat and more in particular of pork. The butchers and farmers are severely controlled in order to prevent the start of a black market, but the rules aren't always obeyed. When Princess Elizabeth is going to marry, a local group of businessmen and notables are organizing a party to impress the local government. They have a pig illegally raised and want to slaughter it for the event. But just before the party, the pig is stolen by Gilbert Chilvers on the instigation of his wife and his mother-in-law, who can't live with the idea that they no longer belong to the notables of the community and therefore can't get more meat...If you like the typical British humor, than this is definitely a movie you shouldn't miss. Especially when they keep the pig in their own house, you can be sure of some hilarious scenes. One reviewer said that you shouldn't watch it when you don't like toilet humor. I'm afraid I can't follow him in that opinion. I don't like that kind of humor at all, but it never was shown in this movie either. It's just insinuated and that's why I could live with it without any problem. Another good reason why you should give this movie a try is the acting. Michael Palin is excellent as the somewhat quiet, but lovable husband who does everything his wife - Maggie Smith plays that role really very well - wants him to do. But the other actors, even though most of them aren't very famous, are very good and interesting to watch.All in all this is a comedy that deserves a lot more attention than what it has received so far. I really enjoyed watching it and regularly had a good laugh. What more can you possibly want from a comedy? A good story and some fine acting? They are all in it as well and that's why I give this movie a 7.5/10.

World War II may be over, but meat rationing is still in force in England, creating a healthy black market for the stuff. In one ordinary English village everyone seems to be on the fiddle apart from mild-mannered chiropodist Gilbert Chilvers. Gilberts eeks out a quiet living serving the feet of the other villagers, much to the annoyance of his social climbing wife and mother-in-law. However when Gilbert gets wronged by the social elite he decides to betray them by stealing an illegal pig they have been fattening up for a large banquet. But once the deed is done, Gilbert finds it harder to turn into food than he had expected.Despite an all star British cast, a subject matter close to all English peoples hearts (class) and quite a few funny moments, this film comes off as a rather mixed affair that seems to be unsure of what it is trying to do and thus doesn't manage to hit any of its targets that well. The script seems to want to be full of whimsy while also being a bit of a satire on the middle-classes, but it is too serious to do the former well, and too relaxed and fuzzy to do the latter. This is not to say it is bad because it does have some things going for it but it just managed to get a consistent tone is the problem. The script has some cracking dialogue at times but mainly falls flat – neither being funny nor sharp enough to do anything of value. Backing this up, the film doesn't really have an ending – with the satire being too vague and the producers tacking on a poor final scene just to give the audience a more positive image to go home on.The cast are good on paper but too few of them really have much to do. Palin is very quiet and, although I know this was what was required of him, he didn't do it that well. Smith is much better and is very scheming and very like a lot of middle class people I know even today – ideas above their station I think would be the condescending way of saying it; they are both well supported by Liz Smith in a comic role. Elliott and Normington are very mercenary having made the top but people like Postlewaite, Griffiths, Paterson and so on are just "there" as opposed to really making an impact.Overall this is an OK film because, even in missing its targets it still has enough going for it to be worth seeing. Failing as both satire and light comedy, the film still have good elements of both and is an amusing class comedy, but the misses and confusions are evident within the film and it is a bit annoying to see it pull itself in various directions without really ever moving. OK, but nothing more than that.

One of the funniest comedies to come across the Atlantic in a long, long time. Maggie is magnificent. This movie will go right over the heads of teenie booopers with less than a high school education, but for the enlightened world this is a gem.