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Rita, Sue and Bob Too
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rita, Sue and Bob Too | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Alan Clarke |
| Produced by | Oscar Lewenstein Sanford Lieberson |
| Written by | Andrea Dunbar |
| Starring | Michelle Holmes, Siobhan Finneran, George Costigan, Lesley Sharp |
| Distributed by | Channel 4 |
| Release date(s) | July 17, 1987 (USA) (earlier UK date unknown) |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Rita, Sue and Bob Too is a British film directed by Alan Clarke about two Yorkshire schoolgirls who have a sexual fling with a married man. It is adapted by Andrea Dunbar from her 1982 stage play of the same name and a 1980 play of hers, "The Arbor". Its portrayal of 'ordinary' people's lives made it a cult film soon after its cinematic release. It was released on DVD in 2003.
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Two 15-year old girls from a housing estate in Bradford babysit for a relatively affluent couple. They start having an affair with the married man, who seduces them in his car on the moors outside Bradford. When Bob develops a preference for Rita, the two girls fall out. Sue then falls for Aslam - a colleague from a taxi firm that she works for.
The film is realistic in its depiction of teenage dress and social attitudes of the mid-eighties. Although the film is set in Bradford, neither Rita nor Sue speak with a Bradford accent. The actresses came from Oldham and Rochdale respectively, and speak with accents from these areas. However, Bob and many of the minor characters speak with Bradford accents.
Maureen Long, who had a non-speaking role as Rita's mother in the film, survived an attack by the Yorkshire Ripper.[1]
In the large argument scene, the old man on the balcony makes a reference to "Manningham Lane". This is the main red light district in Bradford.
The film was released at the same time that Bradford was trying to remodel its image, and it has been blamed for preventing an improvement in the media image of the city. Many local residents, including members of Dunbar's family, resented the film [2]. In May 1987, a gathering of residents outside of Dunbar's house demanded a discussion over her portrayal of the estate[3]. However, it is now thought of warmly by many Buttershaw residents as their area's claim to fame.
Although the film has many comedic elements, it is a comment upon Thatcher's Britain. The run-down estates are covered in graffiti, and unemployment is rife. Issues covered in the film include racism, domestic violence, alcoholism, unemployment and cynical manipulation of state benefits.
The film and the play differ slightly on Bob's social status. In the play, Bob is a "jack-of-all-trade" manual worker, who seems likely to become unemployed under the Thatcher era[4]; although he is supposed to be wealthier than the families of the two girls, the class gulf is not large. However, in the film, a much greater class gulf is portrayed, and there is no reference to Bob being likely to lose his job. In both the play and the film, it is Michelle, Bob's wife, who has more of a stereotypical middle-class attitude than Bob himself; Rita and Sue seem to feel less guilty about cheating with Bob when they know that Michelle lives a fairly comfortable life otherwise.
The 2000 play A State Affair, written by Robin Soans, is said to have been inspired by Rita, Sue & Bob Too. The former is again set on the Buttershaw estate, but is a much more serious play than the latter. The play ends with an entrance by a character named Lorraine, who claims to be one of Andrea Dunbar's daughters. She says, "As a piece of writing, Rita, Sue and Bob Too is OK.... as a piece of autobiography it's disgusting. She made herself look a right tart."