Twin Town
Encyclopedia
Twin Town is a 1997
revenge comedy
film made and set in South West Wales
. It was directed by Kevin Allen
and had a working title of Hot Dog; a hot dog van features in a number of scenes in the film. It stars real-life brothers Rhys Ifans
(in his first major movie role) and Llŷr Ifans
and also features Dougray Scott
. The director appears on screen, briefly seen as a show host on a TV set in the static caravan home of the twins. The co-writer, Paul Durden, also briefly appears as a rude taxi driver.
& Swansea
, the Lewis "twins" of the title are not twins but brothers. They spend their lives living with their parents in a caravan on a local travellers site along with their sister Adie. Constantly mocking their sister's employment with a local massage parlour, they spend most of their time stealing cars, sniffing glue
and challenging each other to a "... huge toke (of cannabis
) on the bong
whilst getting in to other general mischief.
Their father "Fatty Lewis", falls from a ladder while doing roofing work for Bryn Cartwright, a wealthy, prominent local businessman and small-time gangster. Laying blame, the twins attempt to demand compensation
for the accident. Bryn claims it was a cash arrangement with no legal representation and refuses the request for compensation. The twins take this personally and seek revenge by gatecrashing and ruining a local karaoke
competition in which Bryn's daughter, beautiful Bonny is singing, by appearing from back stage and urinating on her during the performance in Barons. Bryn vowes to get even and acquires the help of his associates Greyo and Terry (two corrupt police detectives), to assist him getting revenge on the twins. After several efforts to disrupt their way of life, Bryn appears to succeed by having one of the detectives to assist him in beating up the twins down a back street.
As retaliation continues, the feud spirals out of control, progressing with the twins breaking into Bryn's property and beheading the Cartwrights' pet poodle
, to Terry Walsh setting fire to the Lewis' dog's kennel with their pet inside; a gas bottle explodes, destroying the Lewises' mobile home
and causing the deaths of the twins' family. Clearly upset, the twins go after Bryn, breaking into his house again and tying him up with washing line rigged to his own electric garage door. The twins ask to borrow Bryn's boat to which he agrees, with the hope of the twins letting him go unhurt. The twins disappear leaving Bryn tied up and at the brink of asphyxiation in his own garage. Upon arrival of Jean later that evening, she attempts to use the electric gate remote from outside while returning home, causing the garage door to lift and subsequently cause the hanging of her husband Bryn. By looking under the door and noticing the hanging, Jean hysterically runs through the house and finds their daughter floating on a lilo in their indoor swimming pool listening to music through headphones, blatantly unaware of what had gone on.
The twins consider their job done and grant their father's wish of having a burial at sea with the assiatance of Bryn's boat, with the coffin respectfully draped in the Welsh flag
. It is a poignant moment as the local choir (formed from a number of real-life local male voice choirs) sing the Welsh language
song Myfanwy
at the end of Mumbles Pier
. Meanwhile Terry Walsh, his eyes terrified and pleading, has been gagged and bound to the coffin, and lowered into the sea just off the pier head of Mumbles Swansea. The coffin floats for a while before the twins make a bet to how long the coffin would stay afloat, seemingly brushing aside the emotion of their fathers funeral at sea.
The coffin sinks and a few tears are shed by the twins. The twins then question each other on how far the boat would travel and imply that they would be heading to Morrocco, the boat is last seen heading out to sea, driven by the twins to a haunting choir still singing on the Mumbles pier.
In April 2009 director Kevin Allen revealed plans for a sequel, stating that Rhys and Llŷr Ifans were willing to reprise their roles.
Roger Ebert gives the film 2 stars out of 4.
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
revenge comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film made and set in South West Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It was directed by Kevin Allen
Kevin Allen (actor)
Kevin Allen is a British screenwriter, film director, film producer and actor. He is best known for writing and directing the cult black comedy feature Twin Town set in Swansea . He also directed the films The Big Tease and Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London and hit UK TV series Benidorm...
and had a working title of Hot Dog; a hot dog van features in a number of scenes in the film. It stars real-life brothers Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
(in his first major movie role) and Llŷr Ifans
Llyr Ifans
Llŷr Ifans, is a Welsh actor, born in Ruthin, Wales. He is the younger brother of actor Rhys Ifans.Like his brother, he is a Welsh-language speaker...
and also features Dougray Scott
Dougray Scott
-Early life:The son of Elma, a nurse, and Alan Scott, an actor and salesperson, Stephen Dougray Scott was born in Glenrothes, Fife and attended Auchmuty High School...
. The director appears on screen, briefly seen as a show host on a TV set in the static caravan home of the twins. The co-writer, Paul Durden, also briefly appears as a rude taxi driver.
Plot
Set in Port TalbotPort Talbot
Port Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...
& Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, the Lewis "twins" of the title are not twins but brothers. They spend their lives living with their parents in a caravan on a local travellers site along with their sister Adie. Constantly mocking their sister's employment with a local massage parlour, they spend most of their time stealing cars, sniffing glue
Inhalant
Inhalants are a broad range of drugs whose volatile vapors are taken in via the nose and trachea. They are taken by volatilization, and do not include drugs that are inhaled after burning or heating...
and challenging each other to a "... huge toke (of cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
) on the bong
Bong
A bong is a filtration device/apparatus generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco,or other herbal substances.In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and more portable...
whilst getting in to other general mischief.
Their father "Fatty Lewis", falls from a ladder while doing roofing work for Bryn Cartwright, a wealthy, prominent local businessman and small-time gangster. Laying blame, the twins attempt to demand compensation
Workers' compensation
Workers' compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence...
for the accident. Bryn claims it was a cash arrangement with no legal representation and refuses the request for compensation. The twins take this personally and seek revenge by gatecrashing and ruining a local karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
competition in which Bryn's daughter, beautiful Bonny is singing, by appearing from back stage and urinating on her during the performance in Barons. Bryn vowes to get even and acquires the help of his associates Greyo and Terry (two corrupt police detectives), to assist him getting revenge on the twins. After several efforts to disrupt their way of life, Bryn appears to succeed by having one of the detectives to assist him in beating up the twins down a back street.
As retaliation continues, the feud spirals out of control, progressing with the twins breaking into Bryn's property and beheading the Cartwrights' pet poodle
Poodle
The Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...
, to Terry Walsh setting fire to the Lewis' dog's kennel with their pet inside; a gas bottle explodes, destroying the Lewises' mobile home
Mobile home
Mobile homes or static caravans are prefabricated homes built in factories, rather than on site, and then taken to the place where they will be occupied...
and causing the deaths of the twins' family. Clearly upset, the twins go after Bryn, breaking into his house again and tying him up with washing line rigged to his own electric garage door. The twins ask to borrow Bryn's boat to which he agrees, with the hope of the twins letting him go unhurt. The twins disappear leaving Bryn tied up and at the brink of asphyxiation in his own garage. Upon arrival of Jean later that evening, she attempts to use the electric gate remote from outside while returning home, causing the garage door to lift and subsequently cause the hanging of her husband Bryn. By looking under the door and noticing the hanging, Jean hysterically runs through the house and finds their daughter floating on a lilo in their indoor swimming pool listening to music through headphones, blatantly unaware of what had gone on.
The twins consider their job done and grant their father's wish of having a burial at sea with the assiatance of Bryn's boat, with the coffin respectfully draped in the Welsh flag
Flag of Wales
The Flag of Wales consists of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardised and many renderings exist....
. It is a poignant moment as the local choir (formed from a number of real-life local male voice choirs) sing the Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
song Myfanwy
Myfanwy
Myfanwy is a popular Welsh song, composed by Joseph Parry and first published in 1875. Parry wrote the music to lyrics written by Richard Davies...
at the end of Mumbles Pier
Mumbles Pier
The Mumbles Pier is an long Victorian pier built in 1898. It is located at the south-eastern corner of Swansea Bay near the village of Mumbles within the city and county of Swansea, Wales.-Construction:...
. Meanwhile Terry Walsh, his eyes terrified and pleading, has been gagged and bound to the coffin, and lowered into the sea just off the pier head of Mumbles Swansea. The coffin floats for a while before the twins make a bet to how long the coffin would stay afloat, seemingly brushing aside the emotion of their fathers funeral at sea.
The coffin sinks and a few tears are shed by the twins. The twins then question each other on how far the boat would travel and imply that they would be heading to Morrocco, the boat is last seen heading out to sea, driven by the twins to a haunting choir still singing on the Mumbles pier.
Documentary and Sequel
The 1997 TV documentary Shoot Out in Swansea: The Making of "Twin Town", by Richard Barber, looked at the making of Twin Town and featured interviews with the cast and crew of the film.In April 2009 director Kevin Allen revealed plans for a sequel, stating that Rhys and Llŷr Ifans were willing to reprise their roles.
Cast
- Llyr IfansLlyr IfansLlŷr Ifans, is a Welsh actor, born in Ruthin, Wales. He is the younger brother of actor Rhys Ifans.Like his brother, he is a Welsh-language speaker...
as Julian Lewis (as Llyr Evans) - Rhys IfansRhys IfansRhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
as Jeremy Lewis - Huw CeredigHuw CeredigHuw Ceredig, born Huw Ceredig Jones was a Welsh television actor best known for playing Reg Harries in the Welsh soap opera, Pobol y Cwm.-Personal life:...
as Fatty Lewis - Rachel Scorgie as Adie Lewis
- Di BotcherDi BotcherDi Botcher is a Welsh actress originally from Port Talbot. She has appeared in a series of Post Office advertisements in the UK and she is learning the Welsh language in the Big Welsh Challenge TV show along with Rhod Gilbert and Colin Charvis, with Glyn Wise as her mentor...
as Jean Lewis - Dougray ScottDougray Scott-Early life:The son of Elma, a nurse, and Alan Scott, an actor and salesperson, Stephen Dougray Scott was born in Glenrothes, Fife and attended Auchmuty High School...
as Terry Walsh - Dorien Thomas as Greyo
- William ThomasWilliam Thomas (actor)William Thomas is a Welsh actor, who has appeared in many TV episodes and films. He made his first appearance on TV in 1974, and his work, as an actor, is still ongoing...
as Bryn Cartwright - Jenny Evans as Bonny Cartwright
- Sue Roderick as Lucy Cartwright
- Brian HibbardBrian HibbardBrian Hibbard is a Welsh actor and singer, best remembered as the lead vocalist in the original Flying Pickets.Hibbard was born in Ebbw Vale, and after various job including teacher, steel worker, barman and chimney sweep, he formed the Flying Pickets with a group of other actors who had practised...
as Dai Rhys - Morgan Hopkins as Chip Roberts
- Buddug WilliamsBuddug WilliamsBuddug Williams is a Welsh actress, best known for her roles in the long-running television soap Pobol y Cwm on S4C – first as the mother of Sabrina and Reg...
as Mrs Mort - Ronnie WilliamsRonnie WilliamsRonnie Williams was a Welsh actor and comedian.Williams struggled with his choice of an acting career, making an isolated television appearance in The Wednesday Play in 1966...
as Mr Mort
Reception
Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 46% based on 13 reviews.Roger Ebert gives the film 2 stars out of 4.