MovieChat Forums > Swing (1999) Discussion > Not that Bad

Not that Bad

posted 16 years ago by youngian67
1 reply | jump to latest

Have been curious about this film particularly as it has a cameo from E-street band sax maestro Clarence Clemons in it.

The reviews at the time painted this as an appaling waste of celluloid but having finally seen viewed the film, it isn't anywhere near the bottom of the dreg bin of bad British films.

The plotting and dialogue is predictable and written like a Sunday evening ITV drama, but it has a big heart and some fine performances. Alexei Sayle, Paul Usher and Hugo Spears equip themselves well and some great support from legendary old hands such as Tom Bell, Rita Tushingham and Tom Georgeson.

Not the Commitments but worth a look. For fans of Clemons he does strut his stuff in the closng number.

[–] WarpedRecord 14 years ago

I've seen worse (much worse, actually), but considering the outstanding music and strong cast, I expected better here. Lisa Stansfield is as strong an actress as she is a singer, but this felt like a TV movie with the occasion f-bomb, and the tone was all over the map from slapstick to melodrama.

I loved Lisa's scenes speaking Italian with her mother, but I have to say that as much as I admire Clarence Clemons, I found his little nuggets of musical wisdom annoying here. Still, it's a decent way to kill an hour and a half, and the music positively swings (as you'd expect). 6/10 stars.