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Although I really enjoyed “Looking for Eric” it’s certainly not without flaws. Cantona plays himself – or maybe the stoned Manchester postman’s version of himself – and while the brooding Frenchman needs hardly to act all to carry off the role, that French accent is sometimes quite difficult ... Read review
Looking For Eric
A man trying to put his life back on track gets some advice from an unexpected benefactor ... more
in this comedy-drama from acclaimed British director Ken Loach. Eric Bishop (Steve Evets) is a postman living in Manchester whose life has been slowly going off the rails ever since his wife Lily (Stephanie Bishop) walked out on him. Eric has just been released from the hospital after an auto accident, and comes home to a house that's a mess and two teenage sons, Ryan (Gerard Kearns) and Jess (Stefan Gumbs), who regard their dad as an annoyance rather than an authority figure. Eric's oldest child, a grown daughter named Sam (Lucy-Jo Hudson), loves him but can't get her mother or brothers to show him any respect. And his friends from work don't know what to do for him, except allow him to talk about football and his favourite team, Manchester United. One night, Eric is home alone, smoking some weed, and to his amazement he's visited by an apparition of Eric Cantona, the French footballer who was a star for Manchester United in the 1990s until he retired and dropped out of sight. Cantona's ghost has come to give Eric a pep talk and offer him some advice on how to win Lily back, and as Eric tries to convince his wife to give him another chance, Cantona periodically appears to coach him in the ways of romance. LOOKING FOR ERIC was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
Looking For Eric
A man trying to put his life back on track gets some advice from an unexpected benefactor ... more
in this comedy-drama from acclaimed British director Ken Loach. Eric Bishop (Steve Evets) is a postman living in Manchester whose life has been slowly going off the rails ever since his wife Lily (Stephanie Bishop) walked out on him. Eric has just been released from the hospital after an auto accident, and comes home to a house that's a mess and two teenage sons, Ryan (Gerard Kearns) and Jess (Stefan Gumbs), who regard their dad as an annoyance rather than an authority figure. Eric's oldest child, a grown daughter named Sam (Lucy-Jo Hudson), loves him but can't get her mother or brothers to show him any respect. And his friends from work don't know what to do for him, except allow him to talk about football and his favourite team, Manchester United. One night, Eric is home alone, smoking some weed, and to his amazement he's visited by an apparition of Eric Cantona, the French footballer who was a star for Manchester United in the 1990s until he retired and dropped out of sight. Cantona's ghost has come to give Eric a pep talk and offer him some advice on how to win Lily back, and as Eric tries to convince his wife to give him another chance, Cantona periodically appears to coach him in the ways of romance. LOOKING FOR ERIC was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
Production Year: 1981 - Drama - Director: Franco Zeffirelli - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight, Don Murray, Richard Kiley, Penelope Milford, Beatrice Straight
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
A review by fizzytom on Looking For Eric (DVD) May 31st, 2009
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Loved it
Story
Good
Characters / Performances
Outstanding
Special Effects
Standard
How does it compare to similar films?
Outstanding
Advantages:
Some great acting; very funny; just hugely enjoyable
Disadvantages:
Cantona's sometimes inpenetrable accent; lack of realism in some parts
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Film only review
When depressed postman Eric is forced to come face to face with the woman he abandoned thirty years earlier, his already fragile mental state takes a turn for the worse. Eric lives with his two step sons from his second marriage but his second wife is long gone, leaving Eric to look after the two idle tearaways who have turned the house into a place to store stolen goods and for their equally unpleasant friends to doss down for the night. Seeing that Eric is feeling low, his friends try to help him out and one of them, Meatballs, brings round a self-help manual which recommends imagining you are someone you really admire in order to raise your self-worth. Eric thinks of his idol, the former Manchester United number seven Eric Cantona so you can imagine his surprise when a few days later Cantona turns up at the house with some advice for Eric – delivered of course in true Cantona style.
Remind you of anything? Think of Woody Allen’s “Play it again, Sam” only in this movie, the conscience character is played by the genuine article. It was Cantona who approached veteran director Ken Loach with an idea for the movie and while the film does veer off into frequent “Cantona the king” moments, this is really Eric’s story and not Cantona’s. This movie will end up no doubt being Loach’s most successful film and, with Cantona’s presence and a hefty injection of comedy that Loach’s movies aren’t associated with, it is his most commercial to date.
Steve Evets is excellent as Eric, this tragic downtrodden but likeable character who wants to change his life but doesn’t know how but it is the wonderful rapport between the two Erics that really lights up the film. Eric addresses his hero like a god, with utter reverence while the brooding Cantona ruminates with great concentration and offers sage advice. Young actor Gerard Kearns puts in a noteworthy performance as Ryan, Eric’s stepson who gets out of his depth with some local gangsters.
It’s not all tension and sorrow, however; John Henshaw plays virtually the same character as he did in Early Doors (the landlord of The Grapes) but it is a role that fits brilliantly into this movie and he is at the heart of the comic scenes. For all the tragedy this is ultimately a feel good movie and the laughs will be remembered long after the one or two more brutal scenes. There’s plenty of blokey leg pulling and football gags but it’s not a football movie; it’s really a film about friendship and looking after each other.
Although I really enjoyed “Looking for Eric” it’s certainly not without flaws. Cantona plays himself – or maybe the stoned Manchester postman’s version of himself – and while the brooding Frenchman needs hardly to act all to carry off the role, that French accent is sometimes quite difficult to understand and as he sometimes slips in French expressions, you couldn’t always be sure whether he was speaking French or English. The classic Cantona proverbs become quite tedious after a while too and we plunge into the collected thoughts of a retired French footballer and you long for a bit more comedy to liven things up.
I’m not a Manchester United fan, which shouldn’t matter a jot when it comes to enjoying the film, but towards the middle of the film it seemed like Eric was almost interviewing Cantona and it gave Cantona a chance to explain about the incident at Crystal Palace that saw him banned from English football for nine months. I felt this scene showed “Looking for Eric” as being rather contrived in a way that might not have looked so obvious if it had been omitted.
The quite sudden escalation of drama towards the end didn’t feel right at all and changed the film from a social realist piece to something quite different and I don’t think that the outcome really showed much of an insight into the seedy and brutal world of gang warfare. I can’t think that Loach has ever stepped into this world before and he didn’t seem to really understand it based on the way it is portrayed here.
Nonetheless this is a really enjoyable film that will do very well at the box office and no doubt be in many stockings come Christmas. It is challenging, moving, shocking and most of all, very, very funny.
Certificate 15 116 minutes On general release June 12th
Advantages: Raw Humanism - bare naked Disadvantages: YouTube idea
...Looking For Eric - DVD
Directed by: Ken Loach
Year - 2009
Running time: approx 116 minutes
Certificate: 15
'Orse went t bar - bar-man said why the long face?'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two brass monkeys for the budget of this English cinematic experience, several lets get the local bar in on the act scenes, a run-down house full of wood-worm tiny cubby-holes and dirty sheets, a washed-up ex-Manchester legend feeling his way around Socrates, not the Brazilian Soccer star. A load of best mates with semi funny gaffs, and there you have it a Director Ken Loach in his local pub watching Sky Sports.
This is so 'Brassed Off' styled that all that was missing was a trombone and a triangle. It may take longer to read this review than to get grasp of the Ken Loach story-board. Loach a Football supporter...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Amazing guitaring, classic tunes, good sound Disadvantages: no dramatics apart from the playing
...and a cover of Hendrix's Are You Experienced.
The duration of the music is 1 hour.
Sit back and watch guitar virtuosity at its very finest. Eric seems to be at his prime on the DVD at 35 years of age and the Civil War clothing looks the part aswell.
Enjoy the DVD
Ben...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Can switch off the commentary, split into manageable sections, moves are easy to pick up Disadvantages: Music can get a bit boring and repetitive
...on and really get into the music without the voices in the way! Also, if you have neighbours they won't start worrying about all the "encouraging" comments coming from your room!
The routines are led by the main host Deanne Berry and her seven assistants and it is performed on the same location as the video for Eric Prydz's 'Call On Me' - so yes, expect some very cheesy sexy moves. Naturally, the host does it the best but I found the background dancers particularly amusing, as some of them are trying so hard to be sexy and there is one single man (is that Eric?) who looks a bit out of place. Given that most people watching the DVD will be straight women, I'm not sure the sexy glances help - but I suppose they get you in the mood!
The workouts themselves are split up into neat sections comprising of: a warm up, three different dance workouts...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
helpful 07.01.2008
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