The Bed Sitting Room

source: The Bed Sitting Room

Trailer—The Bed Sitting Room

The Bed Sitting Room

This is a movie that has followed me all throughout my life even though I have only watched it one time approx. 22 years ago. The classic British humor in this prepared me to enjoy other comedy such as Monty Python. I am new to the net and am desperately trying to purchase a copy of this masterpiece to dedicate to the now deceased friend I had watched it with years ago. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

This was a commercial disaster on release and has been little seen since. It was written by Spike Milligan and it is set in a post-apocalyptic world populated by very few people. The cast is very good with Milligan, Michael Hordern, Ralph Richardson, Arthur Lowe, Harry Secombe, Roy Kinnear, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Marty Feldman etc on hand. There is barely a story and it is more a series of situations which are driven by the eccentric characters who live on the barren wasteland. The tone is comedic and absurd throughout and it looks great visually. As the old saying goes, it's certainly not for everyone but it's a bizarre film which is enjoyable so long as you can get into its peculiar groove.

For some strange reason, I recorded this movie one afternoon when it aired and my brother still has it on tape. Hilarious. Ralph Richardson, MIcheal HOrdern, Dudley Moore and Peter cooke were incredibly funny, but Mona Washburne as Mother had us laughing mostly, such as when nurse marty Feldman informed her she had died while she was still very much alive. "Well, you can't argue with it. There it is in black and white." and especially when she was throwing the dishes and was called a '*'. "Get out of here, ya *." too funny! Rita Tushingham gets a bit irritating as the youthful voice of reason, possibly what hurts this movie most, but Peter Cooke's dialogue is priceless. Absolutely priceless. Then of course, we have to pay homage to our Royal Family. Or as close as we can get. Mrs. Ethel Stronk, was it?

Richard Lester's directorial career went into nose-dive (at least for a while) after making this film, which was a pity. It's a post-apocalyptic black comedy like no other. Typically British and typically Milligan-ish, with a stunning visual sense. What I enjoy most about this film is its uncompromising weirdness. It's incredibly inventive, if not particularly funny, and also quite depressing - but it has to be, dealing with the aftermath of nuclear war. There are some excellent performances from a cast which seems to contain most of the outstanding British comedy talent of the last thirty years (Marty Feldman is particularly fine) and some pointed satire about the British "stiff upper lip", but it's the surreal visuals which stand out, including the remains of a motorway with hundreds of cars half-buried in mud, and an escalator emerging into a landscape almost entirely composed of broken crockery. A flawed masterpiece.

This film is set in Britain several years after WWIII--a war that concluded after only 2 or 3 minutes. In its wake, the country is a post-apocalyptic mess--and the survivors, in true British fashion, struggle to maintain their everyday lives and keep a stiff upper lip. I enjoyed hearing the way people referred to the war (because they DIDN'T call it a war--more of a 'misunderstanding'!) and seeing the BBC news was a hoot. In fact, the first 10 minutes or so of "The Bed Sitting Room" was very enjoyable. Unfortunately, there was another 80 minutes to go! Yes, this is a wonderful example of a nice concept for a short sketch being drug out to an incredibly over-long mess. To me, it all became very ponderous after a while. Now don't assume that I just don't like British comedy--many of my favorite films and shows over the years are from the UK. It's just that the pacing of this film was dreadful and it desperately needed SOMETHING--not just more of the same. A clear misfire.