what a carry on?

Rating: 7/10 (2 December 2002)

First time I saw this I really didn't like it and was surprised it won so many awards. Seeing it again I enjoyed it a lot more but still have some reservations. I've never seen a film that was so pleased with itself. It tries so hard to please everybody and that makes it really hard to like. The second half is more satisfying than the first which is more like "Carry On Shakespeare". Some of the performances are very enjoyable notably Judy Dench, Tom Wilkinson and Geoffrey Rush. The pace of the film seems too hurried but at least you've no time to be bored which is obviously what they were afraid of. I still don't think it's a great film but there are plenty of highlights that make it worth watching. (7/10)