Life Is Sweet

Life Is Sweet - 1990 | 103mins | Comedy, Drama | Colour

The Production Team

Director: Mike Leigh.
Producer: Simon Channing-Williams.
Script: Mike Leigh.
Cinematography: Dick Pope.
Production Design: Alison Chitty.
Art Direction: Sophie Becher.
Editing: Jon Gregory.
Costume Design: Lindy Hemming.
Makeup Department: Christine Blundell.
Sound: Sue Baker, Malcolm Hirst and Peter Maxwell.
Music Score: Rachel Portman.

The Cast

Alison Steadman - Wendy
Jim Broadbent - Andy
Claire Skinner - Natalie
Jane Horrocks - Nicola
Stephen Rea Patsy
Timothy Spall - Aubrey
David Thewlis - Nicola's Lover

Plot Synopsis

This is life as the suburban nightmare of a lower middle-class family in the London, leisurely Andy (Jim Broadbent) runs a dilapidated mobile food stand, while upbeat wife Wendy (Alison Steadman), tries to keep charge of two outrageous daughters Natalie and Nicola. Natalie (Claire Skinner) is a laddish plumber and Nicola (Jane Horrocks) is a bulimic sex maniac. Meanwhile his mate, ambitious restaurateur Aubrey (Timothy Spall) plans to bring haute cuisine to Enfield. After a disastrous opening night at the ‘Regret Rien’, Aubrey gets drunk and abysmally attempts to seduce Wendy, who had volunteered to waitress. Yes, it's all here, acutely observed, merciless but tender-hearted, beautifully played under Leigh's multi-layered improvisations, and so funny it hurts; or maybe, it hurts so much, it's funny.