''House!'' is a 2000 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written by Eric Styles and

Jason Sutton Jason Paul Sutton, OBE, is a Royal Air Force Regiment officer who was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his actions whilst serving in Iraq in 2007. Sutton was born in Reading, Berkshire in 1966 and joined the RAF Regime ...

and directed by Julian Kemp. The film stars

Kelly Macdonald Kelly Macdonald (born 23 February 1976) is a Scottish actress. She is known for her roles in '' Trainspotting'' (1996), '' Gosford Park'' (2001), '' Intermission'' (2003), '' Nanny McPhee'' (2005), '' No Country for Old Men'' (2007), ''Boardwa ...

Freddie Jones Frederick Charles Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005.''; at ancestry.com (12 September 1927 – 9 July 2019) was an English actor who had an extensive career in television, theatre and cinema productions for a ...

Miriam Margolyes Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The ...

and Jason Hughes.

Plot

The aging "La Scala"

bingo hall Bingo is a game of probability in which players mark off numbers on cards as the numbers are drawn randomly by a caller, the winner being the first person to mark off all their numbers. Bingo, also previously known in the UK as Housey-Housey, ...

is administered by Welsh-Italian Giovanni Anzani (Freddie Jones). In its heyday, it was the United Kingdom's biggest bingo hall, but its glory days are gone... and though the facility is run-down, the staff is loyal. Gavin (Jason Hughes) is the cheeky bingo caller. When a large international conglomerate announces they are about to open a huge family entertainment center nearby, promising competition through large payouts for their own bingo competitions, Linda (Kelly Macdonald) comes to the aid of the La Scala using her psychic gift.

Cast

as Linda *

as Mr. Anzani *

as Beth * Jason Hughes as Gavin

Reception

Derek Elley of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called ''House!'' an " Ealing-style light comedy", writing that the film was "helmed with impressive technical finesse" by director Julian Kemp" and "propelled by a knockout performance from Kelly Macdonald". Praising Jason Sutton's script, he wrote "none of this would have worked if the characters were simply cutouts and the thesps just mugging along in colorful accents. But Sutton's script, which also makes room for a variety of smaller roles, allows the protags to grow and isn't, as becomes clear later on, simply about winning." Angus Wolfe Murray of ''Eye for Film'' wrote that in "the British tradition of little-things-mean-a-lot, House! fits like chips with fish," and that the film "has the feel good factor in spades." He closes by admiring Sutton's writing and Macdonald's performance. eFilmCritic.com wrote that the film began with a "classic Tarantino pastiche" but became "soon obvious that this isn't your typical lottery funded mishap", noting that director Kemp managed to "inject a sense of life and excitement into the dullest of premises". They summarized by offering that the film was "definitely quirky, and no-ones idea of a main-stream hit, this film has a bit of magic about it."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0201670 2000 films British comedy films Films set in Wales British independent films Films directed by Julian Kemp 2000s English-language films 2000s British films