Mike Bassett: Film Review.

I've always been intrigued by Ricky Tomlinson (Mike Bassett). Born in Liverpool, Tomilinson has made a name for himself starring in numerous amount of TV programmes, including Caroline Aherne's The Royle Family and Phil Redmond's Brookside. This time though, he takes on a new task.

After England Manager Phil Cope dies during a World Cup qualification match, the English FA are seeking a new manager. Only problem is, no one wants the job. Sir Alex Ferguson? Scottish. Brian Clough? Loudmouth. Everyone else didnt want to take over a poor England team. They stumble across one man, Norwich's Mike Bassett. He's taken the, up to the English 3rd division, an achievement, but shouldn't warrant a step up to England considering his poor jobs at previous teams. People didn't know what to make of the news, but all that mattered was that the hopes of England doing well in the World Cup relied on Bassett.

After several poor games, including an iconic and explicit scene with Bassett in the dressing room, England haven't won a game since Bassett took charge. Spineless, effortless, and beyond abysmal, England were all but out of the cup. But after a shock result by Luxembourg who beat Turkey, England got through. It was a miracle for Bassett, and he lived to fight another day. It was party time in the England camp, although it was ruined by Kevin "Tonka" Tonkinson (Dean Lennox Kelly) who defecated in the jacuzzi. Disgusting, but unbelievably hilarious.

As England land in Brazil, they already find themselves in trouble, and they aren't even near a football pitch this time. The "Jocks" and the "Paddy's" as Lonnie Urquart (Philip Jackson) describes them meet the England team, and a brawl kicks off after Tonka mocks both sets of teams. Chairs and cases are thrown, and a brawl starts. A brilliant example of Tomlinson's fantastic humour.

Bassetts troubles didn't end there. Several players were injured due to his training camp being full of failures and technical problems, His star man and captain Gary Wackett (Jeff Bell) was arrested for fighting Brazilian police (which is as funny as it sounds!), his idiotic and brainless attacker Tonka was suspended and dropped for violating Bassetts rules for having women after 9pm (although it was a man Tonka took to his hotel room!) and after a drunken night with Tonka due to a mix of alcohol and anti depressants, Bassett was called for the sack by a number of journalists questioned his behaviour and managerial skills. Over for Bassett?

Nope. The true English, Dunkirk spirit lived on for Bassett. He delivered a wonderful speech of If followed by the phrase "England will be playing 4-4-Fuc*ing-2. The phrase now is still used due to how funny it was. The speech was a turning point. England started to play well, they were actually trying. Bassett changed something in them. It was 0-0. They played Argentina in the second round. One last sub for England. It's Tonka's chance to shine. The gaffer calls him up, and Tonka comes on. The final roll of the dice. He picks up the ball, dribbles the length of the pitch, rounds the keeper and....

Goal? No goal? A "Tonka" moment? The camera zooms on Bassett (which was fantastic as it created tension, suspension and the feeling of mystery). The moment you know it's a goal is when Dave "Doddsy" Dodds (Bradley Walsh) jumps onto Bassett. A feeling of euphoria. Argentinians were complaining though. The actual goal wasn't shown, (again, another brilliant use of how the cameras used created a feeling of suspense) and when the replays were shown, Tonka's shot cannoned off the crossbar after his brilliant Diego Maradona-esq solo run. As the ball came back, Tonka reached out and smashed this ball into the net with his hand. Handball? No chance!

After that, wins against Romania and France meant England progressed to the semi final, but were knocked out to hosts and winners Brazil. After a 5 minute speech of Bassett saying he'll hang up the boots, he exits the plane to thousands of fans, declaring that he's staying for 4 more years!

The comedy used by Tomlinson and the whole production crew was brilliant. I felt like every minute was a funny moment in its own right. The camera angles were used perfectly well, especially towards the end of the film like I described earlier. No special effects. No crazy light works. Just pure comedy. Loved the film, and I would recommend it to anyone. Tomlinson has always been a very likeable character and actor, but I feel this tops any work that he's previously done due to its sheer brilliance and excellence. You can watch Mike Bassett:England Manager below. I rate this film a 10/10. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=33G8rUpUI08