personal services (1987)

in celebration of the career of terry jones, full time member of monty python and part time solo film-maker, the bradford international film festival ran a thread of his work, leading up to an evening of conversation with the man himself. the wind in the willows and eric the viking featured, along side personal services.

aside from the work of terry gilliam (and cleese's outstanding and underrated clockwise), i have never really explored the work of the former pythons. comedy is a genre that doesnt really grab me generally, especially most british comedy, and a bad experience with a fish called wanda as a boy has left a bad taste so lingering that it appears to have left a subconscious warning somewhere in my psyche. anyway, as personal services was showing as part of the terry jones micro-season i decided to give it a shot, and im rather pleased i did.

very much in the vein of the archytypal british 1980's comedy, personal services tells the story christine painter, and her rise from put upon waitress to madame of successful brothel. it really does take a look at a by-gone era, a world which no longer exists in the same way. i remember as a kid seeing inuendo laden advertisements for the likes of 'french polishing' in phone boxes and on notice boards, a concept which is explored in this film, albeit in a lighthearted manner.

having never been a fan of julie walters i wasnt expecting much from her turn. memories of her over the top gurning and whatnot alongside the likes of victoria wood mean that i find it difficult to like her as an actress, but she was great as the lead character of christine. without ruining anything, the 'revelation' of the character of dolly's true identity was nothing short of hilarious, and genuinely surprising. the star of the show, as it were, has to be the character of 'wing commander morten', perhaps the most likeable pervert to ever grace the cinema screen. alec mccowen's performance is one of the most genuinely hilarious i have ever seen, his presence and mannerisms alone were enough to raise a chuckle.