Arthur's Dyke (2001)

Director:

Gerry Poulson

Writer:

Robb Stringle (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Always put your best foot forward...

Plot:

Twenty years ago, three men set out on the longest walk of their lives. They vowed to repeat the walk, but this time they are joined by a forty year old wife and mother who is in the midst of a mid-life crisis. |

Plot Keywords:

Hiking | Midlife Crisis | Friendship Between Men | Wales | Walking

Cast

Pauline Quirke	...	Janet
Robert Daws	...	Arthur
Richard Graham	...	Andy
Nicholas Farrell	...	Geoffrey
Warren Clarke	...	Doug Manley
Dennis Waterman	...	Derek Doubleday
Brian Conley	...	Dave
Rebecca Lacey	...	Phillipa
Stella Gonet	...	Celia
Ellie Beaven	...	Carys
Francesca Hall	...	Pat
Dafydd Hywel	...	Detective
Stella Moray	...	Mrs. Riddington
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Greg Ashton	...	Claire's Assistant
Kate Brown	...	Claire
James Cash	...	Drunken Squaddie 1
Winston Evans	...	Sergeant
Phyl Harries	...	Welsh Rustic
Lynn Hunter	...	Squaddie' Landlady
Gwyn Vaughan Jones	...	Cigarillo Man
Julian Lewis Jones	...	Stubble' Face
Patricia Kane	...	Dilys
Marilyn Le Conte	...	1st Pub Landlady
Ben Maddox	...	Drunken Squaddie 3
Kevin McCurdy	...	Drunken Squaddie 2
Johanna Mohs	...	Swede #2
Stevie Parry	...	Mrs. Griffiths
Dawn Pritchard	...	Julie
Ieuan Rhys	...	Huge Clint
Phil Rowlands	...	Squaddie' Landlord (as Philip Rowlands)
Craig Russell	...	Darren
Nina Thilas Mohs	...	Swede #1
Rachel Williams	...	Girl on Phone 3

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Llanthony Priory, Llanthony, Abergavenny, Gwent, Wales, UK

Company:

Evolution Films

Nice location, but dull

I watched this film because I have recently returned from visiting the Offa's Dyke Information Centre in Prestatyn. I have an interest in the ancient path. Unfortunately the film isn't interesting enough. The story follows three chaps who previously walked along the route during their university days, and twenty years later they attempt to do it again. Meanwhile, housewife Janet (Pauline Quirke) wants to walk the path, too, but her ignorant husband (Brian Conley) isn't interested in her or what she wants. So Janet decides to set off on her own. The three chaps are Arthur, the loud, obnoxious womaniser; Geoffrey, the rich businessman who takes his laptop and mobile on the trip; and Andy, the quieter one who has a disease and hasn't long to live. Janet meets the fellows and we follow the four of them. Throw into the mix Dennis Waterman has a private investigator, two Swedish lady walkers, a woman who stalks Geoffrey and demands him to impregnate her, a twitcher who dies, a bar of rowdy squaddies and a country Western dance, and it might sound appealing and lively, but somehow it isn't. It ultimately feels vacuous. I think the running time of 106 minutes is too long. This would have worked better has a one-hour TV programme.