A Chorus of Disapproval

Plot

Alan Ayckbourn's riotously funny play about a small-time acting troupe in the sticks is brought to the screen by director Michael Winner. Jeremy Irons plays Guy Jones, a mild-mannered flunky for an electronics firm who finds himself transferred to the British seaside town of Scarsborough. Bereft after the death of his wife and seeking a diversion, he tries out for a local amateur opera company's production of The Beggar's Opera. This local company is lorded over by the scabrous and slightly insane Welshman Dafydd Ap Llewellyn (Anthony Hopkins). Dafydd is in a constant rage because of his resentment at having to deal with these rank amateurs who merely try out for his production to pass the time. But his ranting and raving dwindles the number of his cast members with the result that Guy's part in the play is forced to grow larger and more important. But as Dafydd snorts and fumes, he is oblivious to the fact that Guy's increased stature in the production has made him a local lothario. Not only does Guy find himself in the passionate embraces of Fay (Jenny Seagrove), who plays a prostitute in the production, but he also falls into the arms of Dafydd's frumpy and frustrated wife Hannah (Prunella Scales). ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Review

Onstage, the delicate mixture of farce and tragedy that writer Alan Ayckbourn brought to A Chorus of Disapproval is a marvel to behold. Onscreen, it comes off as a movie that doesn't know what it wants to be. Part of this is because Ayckbourn's clever machinations benefit from the artifice of the stage, but the lion's share belongs to director Michael Winner and star Jeremy Irons. Irons is supremely talented, but he's titanically miscast here, lacking in warmth, timing and appeal. The role calls for an expert farceur with the lightest of touches; Irons confuses "light" with inconsequential and insubstantial, leaving a gaping hole at the center of the film. He is not helped by Winner, who is unable to come up with the proper tone – and fails to set up the laughs so that most fail to land. Fortunately, Chorus is saved by its supporting cast, especially Anthony Hopkins and Prunella Scales. Hopkins' performance is devastatingly funny, a marvelously realized portrait of an ego-driven tyrant, a big fish who has become trapped in his own small pond. Scales plumbs the bleak barrenness of her character in a performance that is painfully earnest; her brief moment with the doll that represents her husband is quietly stunning. While Chorus is ultimately disappointing, it does contain some isolated moments that cannot fail to impress. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• Jeremy Irons - Guy Jones
• Anthony Hopkins - Dafydd Ap Llewellyn
• Prunella Scales - Hannah Ap Llewellyn
• Jenny Seagrove - Fay Hubbard
• Sylvia Syms - Rebecca Huntley-Pike

Gareth Hunt - Ian Hubbard; Patsy Kensit - Linda Washbrook; Lionel Jeffries - Jarvis Huntley-Pike; Alexandra Pigg - Bridget Baines; Richard Briers - Ted Washbrook; Barbara Ferris - Enid Washbrook; Pete Lee-Wilson - Crispin Usher; Dinah May - Girl at Work; Audrey Trotter - Mrs. Bawden; Dave King - Mr. Ames; Amanda Mainard - Woman in Theater; Anne Priestley - Hilda Shaw

Credit

Peter Young - Art Director, Sandra Blair - Choreography, Michael Winner - Director, Chris Barnes - Editor, Arnold Crust - Editor, John Du Prez - Composer (Music Score), Boosey Hawkes - Composer (Music Score), De Wolfe - Composer (Music Score), Alan Boyle - Makeup, Dickie Mills - Makeup, David Wynn-Jones - Camera Operator, Alan Jones - Cinematographer, Elliott Kastner - Producer, Michael Winner - Producer, Andre Blay - Producer, Alan Ayckbourn - Screenwriter, Michael Winner - Screenwriter

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