An interesting film to watch if you feel nostalgic for Tyneside locations that have now gone. The flat where Terry lives in Howdon was part of an ambitious high rise scheme that was built in 1961 but by the eighties had become run down,vandalised and prone to lift failures and damp on the higher floors. By the early nineties these three blocks of flats which were a landmark from the Coast Road had been demolished as they had become unpopular with tenants. Maybe Terry, who was so keen to move out of the old terraces to the new world of high rise living, would have been the first on the list for a transfer. Also seen near the end is the Spanish City fun fair. This was once a very popular attraction for families and teenagers until foreign holidays and computer games took over and attendances went into decline. Eventually the fair was closed down in 1999 and turned into housing, although the Dome remains as this is a listed building. Also look out for things you never see now such as Bob's Vauxhall Chevette, once a popular small car in the seventies, yellow buses( I think they're all Stagecoach now) and, of course, flares, kipper ties and men with long hair.
As a sitcom spin off, one of the best, but not quite as good as the television series as predictably it involved a holiday that goes wrong( typical of the genre) and would have been made better with the presence of Bill Owen as Thelma's dad and wisecracking Podge Rowley. However, Lads still makes me laugh as the characterisations stay true to the television series and the melancholy humour that was present in the sitcom is even stronger on here, with the lads harking back to the past ansd the miserable weather making the humour more bitter. Also Terry seems to have mellowed during the film, the aggressive politicised character from the sitcom has seemed to have settled down with a job as a sales executive( in reality selling washing powder from a van), but true to form he loses his job during the film.
The Likely Lads isn't a comedy great, like all sitcom spin offs it has its slow bits, but this is more than made up for by the top quality acting by James Bolam and Rodney Bewes and some hilarious scenes such as Bob and Terry's visit to a guesthouse and the end scene where Bob ends up on a tanker going to Bahrain.
As a sitcom spin off, one of the best, but not quite as good as the television series as predictably it involved a holiday that goes wrong( typical of the genre) and would have been made better with the presence of Bill Owen as Thelma's dad and wisecracking Podge Rowley. However, Lads still makes me laugh as the characterisations stay true to the television series and the melancholy humour that was present in the sitcom is even stronger on here, with the lads harking back to the past ansd the miserable weather making the humour more bitter. Also Terry seems to have mellowed during the film, the aggressive politicised character from the sitcom has seemed to have settled down with a job as a sales executive( in reality selling washing powder from a van), but true to form he loses his job during the film.
The Likely Lads isn't a comedy great, like all sitcom spin offs it has its slow bits, but this is more than made up for by the top quality acting by James Bolam and Rodney Bewes and some hilarious scenes such as Bob and Terry's visit to a guesthouse and the end scene where Bob ends up on a tanker going to Bahrain.