Underplayed Gems

Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987)

Rita, Sue and Bob Too poster
Directed by
Alan John Clarke
Genre
comedy film
Country
Australia, United Kingdom
Runtime
1h 35m
Rated
R
Rating
6.2 of 10 from 80 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

Two teenage schoolgirls in 1980s Bradford start a sexual affair with a married man. The film shows their lives and the consequences of this arrangement.

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What happens

Rita, Sue and Bob Too (stylised as Rita, Sue and Bob too!) is a 1987 British comedy-drama film directed by Alan Clarke and starring Michelle Holmes, Siobhan Finneran, George Costigan, and Lesley Sharp. Set in Bradford, West Yorkshire, it follows two teenage schoolgirls who end up having a sexual affair with a married man. It was written by Andrea Dunbar, who adapted the film from two of her stage plays: Rita Sue and Bob Too (1982) and The Arbor (1980), which were first performed at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The plays were loosely based on Dunbar's experiences growing up in council housing in Buttershaw. The strapline of the film was "Thatcher's Britain with her knickers down." It met with polarised reactions at the time of its release, but has since become a cult hit for its depiction of working-class life in Britain during the 1980s. In 2017, it was given a digital restoration by the British Film Institute. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.