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Actors: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Kelly MacDonald
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story |
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Even director Michael Winterbottom has admitted that Laurence Sterne's well-known 18th-century novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, is unfilmable. Supposedly the story of a son born to upper-class parents in 18th-century Britain, Sterne keeps deviating from the newborn's life to ramble on about British society. However, Winterbottom succeeds by making a postmodern film within a film, a la Truffaut's Day for Night, by focusing on the making of a screen adaptation of Tristram Shandy, along with eye-opening goings-on behind the scenes.
In both Tristram's era and well as the contemporary retelling of his story, events do not proceed smoothly. Early on, the film mainly dwells on Tristram's birth. Both the local midwife and a country doctor, who comes across as a quack, vie to delivery the baby. However, Tristram's story actually takes a back seat to the complicated moviemaking process. We get caught up in whether the movie will ever be finished, as well as the juicy interactions between the cast and crew off screen.
There are on-set glitches, such as not having enough funds to make a battle scene look real, which yield laughable daily rushes. Egos flare, as in an ongoing dispute between the two male leads as to which of them has the bigger role, and who gets to flirt on screen with Gillian Armstrong (playing herself as a last-minute hire). There's an emphasis on Steve Coogan, playing himself as well as Tristram and Tristram's father, as a Lothario. His girlfriend and their baby come on location for a visit, yet at the same time, Steve flirts with the production assistant. In addition, he must submit to an interview with an unctuous reporter to prevent a story about a recent one-night stand from coming to light.
--Elana Starr, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- 18th century
Kind of comedy
- comedy about making a movie
How much humor v. drama
- Nearly all humor
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- actor
Age:
- 20's-30's
Hair color?
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) very short/crewcut
Body type
- (man) average
Unclothed?
- Chest
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) very skinny
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- touching of personal anatomy
- sex under blankets
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- English
Any profanity?
- Some foul language
Is this movie based on a
- book
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Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Elana Starr
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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