The recent behaviour of England's footballers, management, and administration might appear to be quite beyond parody; as was the spell in charge of the national side enjoyed by Graham Taylor in the early 1990s, which appears the most obvious inspiration for 'Mike Basset: England Manager'. Taylor, a decent man with a good record in club football, was sadly less successful in the England job. But he made matters worse for himself by agreeing to be filmed during what proved to be his final years in charge. The resulting documentary revealed a stunning inarticulacy and the total absence of tactical nous on the part of Taylor's team, as well as revealing his strange usage of the English language ("do I not like that!"). The film was both tragic and comic: the sight of Lawrie MacMenemy, Taylor's assistant, wandering defeatedly up and down the touchline while swearing in his Geordie accent was hysterical and poignant at the same time.
So what can 'Mike Bassett', a fictional tale, show us that real life couldn't? The answer is not much, in places the story seems tame compared with reality, while elsewhere it appears exaggerated and thin. There are some laugh-out-loud moments, but overall the film is never really believable, in spite of the fact that the character's utterances are less absurd and garbled than Taylor's were. In some respects, the film is simply dated: Bassett seems to know less about the team he manages than anyone, in our footy-obsessed age, would know from simply reading the newspapers. Enjoy the jokes, then; but for some comedy with bite, get out the video and play that Taylor documentary one more time.
So what can 'Mike Bassett', a fictional tale, show us that real life couldn't? The answer is not much, in places the story seems tame compared with reality, while elsewhere it appears exaggerated and thin. There are some laugh-out-loud moments, but overall the film is never really believable, in spite of the fact that the character's utterances are less absurd and garbled than Taylor's were. In some respects, the film is simply dated: Bassett seems to know less about the team he manages than anyone, in our footy-obsessed age, would know from simply reading the newspapers. Enjoy the jokes, then; but for some comedy with bite, get out the video and play that Taylor documentary one more time.