Bert Rigby, You're A Fool
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''Bert Rigby, You're a Fool'' is a 1989 American
musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...
directed by
Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, author, comedian, director and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. He was the List of awards and nominations received by Carl Reiner, recipient of many awards and ...
, and starring Robert Lindsay in the title role.


Plot

Bert Rigby is a
miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...
in a small dying town of Langmore in northern
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, with aspirations to show business. He tells the story in flashback, while sitting in a bar. He lives with his mother, a musical fan, and next door to his sweetheart, Laurel Pennington. She lives above the pub where she works, and they have a bomb shelter straddling their back yards where they have secret meetings. While his fellows are on strike once again, Bert decides to try his luck in show-biz. He gets his chance when he performs in an amateur show, singing "
Isn't It Romantic? "Isn't It Romantic?" is a popular music, popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It has a 32-bar chorus in A–B–A–C form. Alec Wilder, in his book ''America ...
", and his first appearance on stage goes all wrong, when his nose starts bleeding after an injury sustained playing football - but the audience loves him anyway. So he starts as a comedian in a traveling amateur show for £50 a night, touring around the country with his manager, Sid Trample, and Sid's wife Tess. Bert repeats the act he did in his first appearance, until he tires of it and starts doing a
Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...
imitation. During the tour they come across a crew filming a contraceptives commercial. One day Bert gets an offer from an ad director from
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
and flies to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
with Sid, expecting a great career ... and again leaving behind his pregnant young wife. Bert is calling Laurel when he is about to leave, and when he has to break off, he swears when he discovers his bags are missing, leaving Laurel with a misunderstanding. In Hollywood they film a commercial with him playing Buster Keaton, and directed by Kyle DeForest, the same director he had seen filming the contraceptives commercial, but the ad is dropped when a demographic survey reveals that most of the target audience had never heard of Keaton. Bert phones Laurel to apologize, but he swears again when he slips on the wet bathroom floor, causing yet more misunderstanding. Bert then discovers that Sid has left him high and dry, and stranded in America, they part ways. Bert then works as a
pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...
deliveryman, where he encounters a group of thugs, and then as a nightclub comic, where he defends a
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
man against a loutish patron. The grateful Hispanic hires Bert to work as a tree pruner. There he meets Meredith, the hot-to-trot wife of movie mogul I.I. Perlestein. When Bert is fired from his job as a tree pruner, he is then hired by Perlestein to work as a servant in their house, and to act as a technical advisor to Jim Shirley, a caddish Hollywood star who is playing a Briton in a film. While fending off the advances of Meredith, Bert forms a bond with Shirleys' son. Then Bert phones Laurel, and during their conversation, he has a dream where he sings to her " Dream a Little Dream of Me." The Perlesteins have a dinner party at their house, with Bert acting as the servant. The party becomes a disaster when the curtain hiding a priceless masterpiece is set on fire. The flashback ends, and the bartender tells Bert that the person he has been telling his story to does not speak English. Bert then dances in the bar, which catches the attention of an ad producer. Bert eventually returns to England in triumph, with a showing of his song-and-dance White Gold beer commercial in the town theatre. The commercial is followed by Bert doing a rendition of " Puttin' on the Ritz."


Reception

Janet Maslin gave the film a mixed review in ''The New York Times,'' saying "the film that Carl Reiner has fashioned around Mr. Lindsay's music-loving mineworker, is extremely odd. Its pace isn't quick. Its point isn't clear. Its satire is so gentle that it hardly has a target. Its only guiding sentiment is a loose, soft-hearted affection for a certain kind of show-business magic.""Bert Rigby, You're a Fool (1989) Reviews/Film; From Coal Dust to Hollywood Glitter With Robert Lindsay"
Janet Maslin, ''The New York Times,'' February 24, 1989 Anne Bancroft earned a
Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John ...
nomination for Worst Supporting Actress for her performance in the film.


Cast

* Robert Lindsay - Bert Rigby *
Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...
- Sid Temple * Cathryn Bradshaw - Laurel Pennington *
Anne Bancroft Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, tw ...
- Meredith Perlestein *
Corbin Bernsen Corbin Dean Bernsen (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor and film director. He appeared as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series ''L.A. Law'',
- Jim Shirley * Bruno Kirby - Kyle DeForest * Jackie Gayle - I.I. Perlestein * Carmen du Sautoy - Tess Temple * Liz Smith - Mrs. Rigby * Mike Grady - Mick O'Grady


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bert Rigby, You're A Fool 1980s American films 1980s English-language films 1980s musical comedy films 1989 films American musical comedy films Films about entertainers Films about Hollywood, Los Angeles Films directed by Carl Reiner Films scored by Ralph Burns Films set in England Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in South Yorkshire Films with screenplays by Carl Reiner Warner Bros. films English-language musical comedy films 1989 musical films