Comfort and Joy
Encyclopedia
Comfort and Joy is a 1984 film directed by Bill Forsyth
. It stars Bill Paterson as a radio DJ whose life undergoes a bizarre upheaval when his girlfriend leaves him.
Allan "Dicky" Bird is stunned when Maddy (Eleanor David
), his kleptomania
c girlfriend of four years, suddenly announces that she is moving out. His doctor friend Colin (Patrick Malahide
) tries to console him, but Bird is heartbroken.
One day, he goes for a drive to take his mind off his troubles. Noticing an attractive girl, Charlotte (Clare Grogan
), in the back of a "Mr. Bunny" ice cream van
, he follows it under a railway bridge on a whim and when the van stops, purchases an ice cream cone. (As in Alice in Wonderland, the protagonist
has followed a rabbit through a tunnel, with sometimes bizarre consequences.) To his amazement, three men drive up and proceed to smash up the van with baseball bats. The occupants retaliate with squirts of raspberry sauce
. By sheer chance, Bird finds himself involved in a turf war
between rival Italian ice cream vendors: the young interloper Trevor (Alex Norton
) and the older, more established "Mr. McCool" (Roberto Bernardi).
As an admired local celebrity, Bird meets with McCool and his sons Bruno, Paolo, and Renato. He then goes back and forth between them and Trevor and Charlotte (later revealed to be McCool's rebellious daughter), trying to negotiate a peaceful settlement. Various misadventures follow, with his red BMW 323i Baur convertible suffering more and more damage each time. Bird becomes obsessed with resolving the war. To contact the combatants, he starts broadcasting coded messages
on his early morning show, causing Hilary (Rikki Fulton
), his boss, to ask his secretary if Mr. Bird's contract includes a "sanity clause." Given that the season is Christmas, his secretary hears the question as being about Santa Claus, so he has to loudly repeat it. Hilary then orders Bird to see a psychiatrist about the Mr. Bunny he keeps trying to reach.
In the end, Bird proposes that the rival entrepreneur
s, who turn out to be uncle and nephew, join forces to market a new treat: ice cream fritter
s. Both sides are impressed by the product's potential. It appeals both to Trevor's fish and chips frying background as well as Mr. McCool's ice cream expertise. Since Bird alone knows the secret ingredient of the ancient Chinese recipe
, he cuts himself in for 30% of the gross and repairs to his abused car.
wrote, "Comfort and Joy is a charming film on its own, but something of a disappointment when compared to Gregory's Girl
and Local Hero
, in which the inventions were more consistently comic and crazy." Film4
agreed, calling it "somehow not as satisfying as his [Forsyth's] early films." The reviewer went on to observe that, "Paterson is always worth seeing, while Grogan and David are equally watchable, but there aren't the belly laughs That Sinking Feeling
provides so readily, or the casual charm of Gregory's Girl." The Variety
magazine review was also lukewarm, concluding that after "evincing much laughter over an unexpectedly funny couple living together, Forsyth abruptly switches into a more conventional plot" and that "David and Paterson are terrific together and almost every line between them is a joy. From the point she departs with no explanation the pic flashes a sparky moment or two, but it doesn't reach the high spots again."
On the other hand, Roger Ebert
called Comfort and Joy "one of the happiest and most engaging movies you are likely to see this year, and it comes from a Glasgow director who has made a specialty out of characters who are as real as you and me, and nicer than me."
Comfort and Joy has a 100 percent certified "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
.
provided the film's score. Some musical passages were taken from the 1982 Dire Straits
album Love Over Gold
.
Bill Forsyth
Bill Forsyth is a Scottish film director and writer, noted for his commitment to national film-making.Forsyth first came to attention with a low-budget film, That Sinking Feeling, made with youth theatre actors and featuring a cameo appearance by the Edinburgh gallery owner Richard Demarco...
. It stars Bill Paterson as a radio DJ whose life undergoes a bizarre upheaval when his girlfriend leaves him.
Plot
A few days before Christmas, Glasgow radio disc jockeyDisc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Allan "Dicky" Bird is stunned when Maddy (Eleanor David
Eleanor David
Eleanor David is an English actress. She has appeared in multiple films and television programs including Pink Floyd The Wall directed by Alan Parker, Comfort and Joy directed by Bill Forsyth, Paradise Postponed, and Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy...
), his kleptomania
Kleptomania
Kleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape...
c girlfriend of four years, suddenly announces that she is moving out. His doctor friend Colin (Patrick Malahide
Patrick Malahide
Patrick Malahide is a British actor, who has played many major film and television roles.-Personal life:Malahide, real name Patrick Gerald Duggan, was born in Reading, Berkshire, the son of Irish immigrants, a cook mother and a school secretary father...
) tries to console him, but Bird is heartbroken.
One day, he goes for a drive to take his mind off his troubles. Noticing an attractive girl, Charlotte (Clare Grogan
Clare Grogan
Clare Grogan is a Scottish actress and singer. She is sometimes credited as C. P. Grogan.-Early life:...
), in the back of a "Mr. Bunny" ice cream van
Ice cream van
An ice cream van or ice cream truck is a commercial vehicle which serves as a travelling retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or near parks, beaches, or other areas where people congregate...
, he follows it under a railway bridge on a whim and when the van stops, purchases an ice cream cone. (As in Alice in Wonderland, the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
has followed a rabbit through a tunnel, with sometimes bizarre consequences.) To his amazement, three men drive up and proceed to smash up the van with baseball bats. The occupants retaliate with squirts of raspberry sauce
Coulis
A coulis is a form of thick sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits. A vegetable coulis is commonly used on meat and vegetable dishes, and it can also be used as a base for soups or other sauces. Fruit coulis are most often used on desserts...
. By sheer chance, Bird finds himself involved in a turf war
Turf war
According to Wordnet the definition of a turf war is "a bitter struggle for territory or power or control or rights". For example: a turf war erupted between street gangs; the president's resignation was the result of a turf war with the board of directors. In larger companies Turf wars could...
between rival Italian ice cream vendors: the young interloper Trevor (Alex Norton
Alex Norton
Alexander Hugh "Alex" Norton is a Scottish actor. He is probably best known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in Taggart, and Eddie in the Renford Rejects....
) and the older, more established "Mr. McCool" (Roberto Bernardi).
As an admired local celebrity, Bird meets with McCool and his sons Bruno, Paolo, and Renato. He then goes back and forth between them and Trevor and Charlotte (later revealed to be McCool's rebellious daughter), trying to negotiate a peaceful settlement. Various misadventures follow, with his red BMW 323i Baur convertible suffering more and more damage each time. Bird becomes obsessed with resolving the war. To contact the combatants, he starts broadcasting coded messages
Code (cryptography)
In cryptography, a code is a method used to transform a message into an obscured form, preventing those who do not possess special information, or key, required to apply the transform from understanding what is actually transmitted. The usual method is to use a codebook with a list of common...
on his early morning show, causing Hilary (Rikki Fulton
Rikki Fulton
Robert Kerr Fulton, OBE , more commonly known as Rikki Fulton, was a Scottish comedian and actor best remembered for writing and performing in the long-running BBC Scotland sketch show, Scotch and Wry. He was also known for his appearances as one half of the double act, Francie and Josie, alongside...
), his boss, to ask his secretary if Mr. Bird's contract includes a "sanity clause." Given that the season is Christmas, his secretary hears the question as being about Santa Claus, so he has to loudly repeat it. Hilary then orders Bird to see a psychiatrist about the Mr. Bunny he keeps trying to reach.
In the end, Bird proposes that the rival entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
s, who turn out to be uncle and nephew, join forces to market a new treat: ice cream fritter
Fritter
A fritter is any kind of food coated in batter and deep fried. Although very similar to a doughnut it differs in the fact that it requires some base ingredient beyond the dough it is cooked with.-Anglo-American fritters:...
s. Both sides are impressed by the product's potential. It appeals both to Trevor's fish and chips frying background as well as Mr. McCool's ice cream expertise. Since Bird alone knows the secret ingredient of the ancient Chinese recipe
Fried ice cream
Fried ice cream is a dessert made of a breaded scoop of ice cream that is quickly deep-fried creating a warm, crispy shell around the still-cold ice cream....
, he cuts himself in for 30% of the gross and repairs to his abused car.
Cast
- Bill Paterson as Alan Bird
- Eleanor David as Maddy
- Clare GroganClare GroganClare Grogan is a Scottish actress and singer. She is sometimes credited as C. P. Grogan.-Early life:...
as Charlotte (as C. P. Grogan) - Alex NortonAlex NortonAlexander Hugh "Alex" Norton is a Scottish actor. He is probably best known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in Taggart, and Eddie in the Renford Rejects....
as Trevor - Patrick MalahidePatrick MalahidePatrick Malahide is a British actor, who has played many major film and television roles.-Personal life:Malahide, real name Patrick Gerald Duggan, was born in Reading, Berkshire, the son of Irish immigrants, a cook mother and a school secretary father...
as Colin - Rikki FultonRikki FultonRobert Kerr Fulton, OBE , more commonly known as Rikki Fulton, was a Scottish comedian and actor best remembered for writing and performing in the long-running BBC Scotland sketch show, Scotch and Wry. He was also known for his appearances as one half of the double act, Francie and Josie, alongside...
as Hilary - Roberto Bernardi as "Mr. McCool"
- George RossiGeorge RossiGeorge Rossi is a Scottish actor, best known for playing Detective Constable Duncan Lennox in The Bill from 1998 to 2003. Rossi is of Italian descent, his mother originates from Valvori, a frazione of Vallerotonda in Lazio, Italy.He worked alongside his brother Peter in the family ice-cream van...
as Bruno - Peter Rossi as Paolo
- Billy McElhaney as Renato
- Gilly Gilchrist as Rufus
- Caroline Guthrie as Gloria
- Ona McCracken as Nancy
- Elizabeth Sinclair as Fiona
- Katy Black as Sarah
Critical reception
In his New York Times review, Vincent CanbyVincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
wrote, "Comfort and Joy is a charming film on its own, but something of a disappointment when compared to Gregory's Girl
Gregory's Girl
Gregory's Girl is a 1981 Scottish coming-of-age romantic comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth.The film is set in and around a state secondary school in the Abronhill district of Cumbernauld. It features Gordon John Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, and Clare Grogan, among others...
and Local Hero
Local Hero
Local Hero is a 1983 Scottish comedy-drama film starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster. It was directed by Bill Forsyth and produced by David Puttnam....
, in which the inventions were more consistently comic and crazy." Film4
Film4
Film4 is a free digital television channel available in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned and operated by Channel 4, that screens films.-Programming:...
agreed, calling it "somehow not as satisfying as his [Forsyth's] early films." The reviewer went on to observe that, "Paterson is always worth seeing, while Grogan and David are equally watchable, but there aren't the belly laughs That Sinking Feeling
That Sinking Feeling (1980 film)
That Sinking Feeling is a 1980 comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth, his first film as a director. The film is set in his home city, Glasgow, Scotland. The young actors in film were members of the Glasgow Youth Theatre. The film also features Richard Demarco, the Edinburgh gallery...
provides so readily, or the casual charm of Gregory's Girl." The Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine review was also lukewarm, concluding that after "evincing much laughter over an unexpectedly funny couple living together, Forsyth abruptly switches into a more conventional plot" and that "David and Paterson are terrific together and almost every line between them is a joy. From the point she departs with no explanation the pic flashes a sparky moment or two, but it doesn't reach the high spots again."
On the other hand, Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
called Comfort and Joy "one of the happiest and most engaging movies you are likely to see this year, and it comes from a Glasgow director who has made a specialty out of characters who are as real as you and me, and nicer than me."
Comfort and Joy has a 100 percent certified "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
Soundtrack
As with Forsyth's previous film, Local Hero, Mark KnopflerMark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
provided the film's score. Some musical passages were taken from the 1982 Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
album Love Over Gold
Love over Gold
Love Over Gold is the fourth album by British rock band Dire Straits.- History :Due to its lengthy atmospheric instrumental passages, the album has been cited as the band's attempt at progressive rock....
.