Touches You

Memorable, crazy movie

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Morecambe and Wise aren't part of my cultural heritage (I guess the equivalent comedy team in my childhood would be Wayne and Shuster) but I had no trouble enjoying this without reference to the originals. Of course comedy is very time and place specific so it's virtually impossible to actually BE funny while playing funny people from another place and time. But Daniel Rigby and Bryan Dick radiate so much charm and energy as Eric and Ernie that I can easily imagine them becoming big stars.It must have been the sequence in the burlesque theater that made me think of "Gypsy." There are certainly parallels between these two dramatizations of the early lives of stars and their stage mothers. Victoria Wood was casting herself very much against type as Mama Sadie, bullying and manipulating her son Eric into a stage career he never wanted. Now I'm thinking of Imelda Staunton's Mama Rose, which captured the monstrous ambition of the character without her seductive charm (I'm sorry but there is no way in hell that Staunton could ever been seen to have made a damn good stripper.) Wood herself would have been terribly cast as Rose--she was a crooner, not a belter. But her own warm, vulnerable persona radiates through Sadie's ruthlessness, and her version of "Rose's Turn"--weeping quietly after Eric and Ernie have informed her they've hired a proper manager and packed her off into a first-class train carriage home--is just as touching as Wood meant it to be.

I'm of that generation that religiously waited for and watched Morecambe and Wise's usually superb BBC TV specials in the mid 70's when they were at their peak (although nowhere near enough credit is given to their writer Eddie Braben) and so was very interested to watch this dramatisation of their formative years.It has to be said that their old employer does them proud with a well written, produced and acted TV movie. In truth I could find little to fault in it, my only complaints being perhaps the limited dynamic arc in the story itself and a little too much screen-time for the inspiration behind the project, Victoria Walters. That's not to say she's not good in the part of Eric's pushy, typical show-biz mother, but she takes too much focus away from our heroes, to the, as I say, slight detriment of the piece.The other main casting credits work very well, with Jim (Vic Reeves) Moir a revelation as Eric's docile dad and the young actors playing Eric and Ern as spot on as they could be with look, voice and mannerisms. They have that essential ingredient for any double-act, chemistry. The script includes some decent gags, but enough of what really matters here, drama, to make it entertaining.The duo's well-known personae are developed naturally and enough signposts are inserted to their future routines and catch-phrases to please admirers of their later work. As I indicated, this wasn't the most essential show-biz bio-pic I've ever watched but it was amongst the more entertaining of them.What did I think of it (so far)? Definitely not "Rubbish!"

I absolutely loved Eric and Ernie, for me it was one of the best programmes over the festive season. Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise are an unforgettable comedy duo and never fail to make me laugh or cheer me up. Eric and Ernie is a funny and affectionate tribute, and is close to perfection. The only reason why it isn't quite is that I agree it was a little too short. That said, visually Eric and Ernie is lovingly crafted and accurate, while the music is beautiful. The script is in my view superb, Peter Bowker(who also penned the script for the unforgettable Occupation) has a real talent for writing dialogue, the story is beautifully structured and never less than immensely engaging and the chemistry between Eric and Ernie was a joy as well as their antics and routines. The drama is also wonderfully directed, and there is never a dull moment. The acting hits the nail right on the head, Daniel Rigby and Bryan Dick are both brilliant and the supporting cast with Vic Reeves, Victoria Wood and Reece Sheersmith are stellar. Overall, Eric and Ernie was brilliant, you can tell a lot of work and care went into this, and I am just amazed it turned out so well. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

Simply the best programme on British TV over the festive period. Unlike previous biopics of comedians which tend to be dark and depressing, Eric and Ernie was a warm, moving and funny story of the early days of Britain's best loved double act.The cast was marvellous, it was really like watching the real Eric and Ernie perform. Victoria Wood and Jim Moir (Vic Reeves)were outstanding as Eric's parents.The film was clearly a labour of love and it shows in every detail.So why did I give it 9 instead of 10? Well, I would have preferred it to end with their song "Bring Me Sunshine".