A Private Function

Critics Consensus

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88%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 8

63%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 2,135
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Movie Info

A Private Function is set in a postwar England sagging under the weight of restrictive food rationing. Under the watchful eye of Food Ministry inspector Bill Paterson, no one in his Yorkshire district dares do business with the Black Market. But he can't completely stop the food hoarders, of which social-climbing Maggie Smith is the most brazen. When Smith wants to appropriate a pig that is being fattened for slaughter in direct defiance of local laws, she enlists the reluctant aid of her husband, Michael Palin. Fetching the porker is one matter; hiding it in Palin and Smith's house is another. This zany central situation serves as the hub of a film that takes scattered satirical shots at bureaucracy, hypocrisy and too-rigid class consciousness. Throw in a few cruel, gross-out jokes, and you have a crazy concoction in the fine old Monty Python tradition. It's clear throughout that screenwriter Alan Bennett fully intended for the title A Private Function to have a double meaning.

Cast

Michael Palin
as Gilbert Chilvers
Maggie Smith
as Joyce Chilvers
Denholm Elliott
as Dr Charles Swaby
Liz Smith
as Joyce's Mother
Richard Griffiths
as Allardyce
Tony Haygarth
as Sutcliff
John Normington
as Lockwood
Bill Paterson
as Wormold
Alison Steadman
as Mrs. Allardyce
Jim Carter
as Inspector Noble
Pete Postlethwaite
as Nuttal
Eileen O'Brien
as Mrs. Sutcliff
Rachel Davies
as Mrs. Forbes
Reece Dinsdale
as P.C. Penny
Philip Wileman
as Preston
Charles McKeown
as Medcalf
Philip Whileman
as Preston
Susan Porrett
as Mrs. Medcalf
Donald Eccles
as Father
Denys Hawthorne
as Hotel Manager
Don Estelle
as Barraclough
Eli Woods
as Ernest
Amanda Gregan
as Veronica
Paula Tilbrook
as Mrs. Turnbull
Bernard Wrigley
as Painter
Lee Daley
as Painter's Boy
Gilly Coman
as Dorothy
Maggie Ollerenshaw
as Woman
Josie Lane
as Mrs. Beavers
David Morgan
as Mervin
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Critic Reviews for A Private Function

All Critics (8) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (1)

View All Critic Reviews (8)

Audience Reviews for A Private Function

  • Aug 10, 2012
    A woman with social climbing aspirations compels her husband to steal a pig from rich people despite the town's food rationing program. This film is chuckle-funny, scattering a few witty moments. The supporting players, especially Richard Griffiths and the great Maggie Smith, are most responsible for the film's good scenes while Michael Palin doesn't do anything extraordinary to create a discernible character, quite unlike his <i>Python</i> work. Thematically, it's hard to tell what this film is satirizing. It's clear that class is at issue; the upper class characters act ridiculously, and Joyce's societal aspirations seem senseless as a result. But what is going on with the socialist food rationing? Is the film satirizing socialism? The answers to these questions aren't entirely clear. Overall, good for a few yuks, <i>A Private Function</i> isn't a bad film, but it's ultimately disappointing considering the overwhelming talent of its stars.
    Jim H Super Reviewer
  • Oct 14, 2011
    A fun little movie about a couple trying to make it in society during hard times. Love Liz Smith as always along with the rest of the cast.
    Sunil J Super Reviewer
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A Private Function Quotes

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