Classic underdog stories with loveable losers searching for a rare win in life are a staple of British cinema. Here are eight essentials…
British cinema is full of great and inspiring underdog stories, occasionally based on true stories, about loveable good-hearted losers who happen upon one big moment to succeed in life. Even if it’s a small win or the infamy of being terrible at an elite competition, these affable heroes charm us on screen just as they may have done in real life.
This kind of film is something British cinema exceeds at and does as well as any nation. There’s often a bit more of a kitchen sink, naturalistic approach compared to more glamorized tales that come out of the US and yet we Brits still capture the romanticism of a working class shmoe who blags his way into the British Open Golf Championship for example.
Life-affirming, joyous and feel-good, these films are the perfect antidote to the drudgery of Western life right now where Americans have a choice between Sleepy Joe or a huge thatched-headed Orangutang and Britain has to choose between an irksomely clueless billionaire and a guy whose charisma-less nasal voice makes you want to drill your brain to a jellied mush through your ear. Yeah, best to stick on these feel-good tales ASAP.
The Full Monty
In retrospect, this tale of a group of unemployed ex-steel workers taking to stripping in the hope of garnering a whopping thousand pounds to share between them seems quaint. Such is the hopelessness of life in post-Thatcher Sheffield, that even such a small victory offers a temporary reprieve for Gaz (Robert Carlisle) and his pals, including Paul Barber, who stars in (shameless plug alert) Flickering Myth’s upcoming gothic horror film The Baby in the Basket.
With a killer soundtrack, endlessly quotable script and a fantastic cast of characters, The Full Monty is one of the great feel-good comfort movies. The next time you check your shopping receipt and drop a lung out your backside at the sight of the price of olive oil, rush to the TV and stick this on. It’s still doing the rounds on Disney+. Guaranteed, if only for 90 minutes, to make the world a brighter place.
Blinded by the Light
Most of us have grown up in a multicultural society and tales dealing with cultural differences make for interesting viewing, particularly those set during periods in history where those differences were all the more marked. Blinded by the Light sees a young Pakistani lad (Viveik Kalra) growing up in 1980s Britain under an artistically stifling Thatcher government and with the weight of expectations from his parents to work in the family business and aspire for academic achievement to become a functional worker.
He aspires to write poetry, which is totally against what his strict father expects him to do to get by in British society and claw his way up the social strata. All alongside the daily abuse he suffers at the hands of the locals who view him as an unwelcome guest on their turf. It’s in the music of Bruce Springsteen, and his songs of working-class struggle, that Javed finds some solace and inspiration.
As you can of course imagine, a Springsteen-laden soundtrack is superb. Just the bombast of Born to Run by itself never fails to raise your mood. Director Gurinda Chadha (Bend it Like Beckham) has plenty of previous with uplifting feel-good tales.
Eddie the Eagle
One of the all-time great sporting stories in Britain saw an unassuming gent called Eddie Edwards become Britain’s first Olympic skier, in spite of a total lack of support and obvious athletic talent and skill. With hurdles at every turn trying to stop him from hitting those slopes, he made it and despite less-than-stellar jumps he became a national hero.
Eddie’s infectious heart and determination made him a perfect film character, played beautifully by Taron Egerton. Edwards finds surprising support from a former ski coach turned Snow Plow driver, played by Hugh Jackman. Sure, these unassuming regular Joes might be played by disgustingly handsome sex symbols, but I suppose that’s a little bit of Hollywood romance by way of British cinema. Dexter Fletcher has shown himself to be an adept director in heartfelt stories with unlikely heroes (see also Wild Bill).
The Phantom of the Open
On the subject of unlikely sporting heroes, we have the real-life tale of Maurice Flitcroft brought to the screen brilliantly in The Phantom of the Open. After becoming allured by golf and despite not playing a single round, Flitcroft, a born dreamer, manages to enter the British Open with a simple bend of the truth on his form. He slips through the net and takes to the course, setting a record for the worst score in history.
A tale of losing to epic proportions might not seem inspiring, but Flitcroft never doubts his ability or his achievements and the film more importantly shows this hard-working family man finally getting his moment to shine after making so many sacrifices for his family. Sally Hawkins as Jean Flitcroft is wonderful as always, whilst Mark Rylance once again proves that as far as Chameleon-like character actors go, he’s one of the best in the business. An incredibly engaging and heartfelt performance which he never overplays for cheap schmaltz or cheap giggles. It’s pitch-perfect.
I, Daniel Blake
Ken Loach wears his anti-conservative heart on his sleeve, often portraying ordinary working folk suffering at the hands of broken bureaucratic systems. In this case, it’s Daniel Blake, incapacitated after a heart attack and having to rely on benefits, he’s suddenly deemed fit for work and has those benefits stripped from him. As he fights the appeals process to near infuriation and despair, he also finds himself befriending a struggling single mother.
Both let down by the government’s inhumane number-crunching system, they bond and search for some kind of moral victory. As with most Loach films, there’s never a particularly Hollywood ending where all is right with the world, but despite the bleak plot, Loach still treads the bittersweet line brilliantly, helped by great performances from David Johns and Hayley Squires.
Billy Elliot
Adapted from a play, Stephen Daldry’s feel-good tale of a young Northern lad’s dream to become a ballet dancer became a hit film that then became a hit musical, returning to the stage. As with many films about working-class heroes aspiring for more than their lot in life, particularly from mining areas and the perennially overlooked area of Britain (you know, anywhere North of the home counties), this sets us in a time and place very well. Once again it’s slap bang in a depressing depiction of Thatcher’s Britain.
Coming from a rugged mining community that’s dealing with economic disaster, Billy’s love of dance is greeted with shock and derision by his father particularly but he perseveres, helped by his no-nonsense teacher (Julie Walters). The infectious film made Jamie Bell a star, whilst reaffirming (as if needed) that Julie Walters is never less than incredible. Rousing dance numbers, a great soundtrack and heartwarming feel-good moments make Billy Elliot a perfect tonic to a world about to be usurped by the AI that people are asking to make comical pictures.
Paddington
With so many British-made adaptations of old childhood books and TV shows proving awful, the expectations for Paddington when it was first announced were basement-level low. Against the odds, the filmmakers laughed in the face of convention and made one of the most unexpectedly wonderful films ever. They then repeated the trick with a great sequel which was arguably even better and a third is due out very soon.
The first film saw the little bear from Peru, with a taste for marmalade sandwiches arrive at Paddington Station without much clue what to do. He’s adopted by a kindly family and misadventures and charming hijinks ensue. Paddington is our underdog hero who brings unexpected mischief to the family and brings them closer. Where many films of a similar ilk failed, is that they were aimed squarely at kids. Paddington aims and hits the target with every demographic. Feel-good films rarely get as feel-good as this.
Shaun of the Dead
What if your hopes of surviving a zombie apocalypse rested on the shoulders of a hapless retail worker, stuck in his unadventurous routines that flit from work to his usual local pub and the corner shop for the occasional cornetto? Much to the chagrin of his long-suffering girlfriend, who dumps Shaun shortly before the zombie outbreak is unleashed, Shaun must leap from his routines in the face of a Zombie outbreak.
Edgar Wright and his Spaced cohorts, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost made the jump from TV sitcom to feature film as adeptly as anyone. Pegg is great as our likeable loser whose slothful existence suddenly gets thrust into high gear with a sense of purpose, to rescue his (now ex) girlfriend and survive. With no real plan, however, he’s as hapless as you’d hope. Wright and Pegg beautifully balance the horror and comedy. This film is still hilarious, full of quotable lines but more importantly, Wright’s love of all things Romero is clear and as a Zombie film he nails it too. Often these fusions get at least one of the horror or the comedy, wildly wrong but not so in the case of Shaun of the Dead.
What’s your favourite feel-good British underdog movie? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Tom Jolliffe
