The Girl on the Boat

Although this was not one of PG Wodehouse's better novels, it still deserves better than the terminally irritating, never funny, ridiculously overrated comedy pygmy that is Norman Wisdom. Wodehouse was a genius, a description that has often been applied to Wisdom, the difference being that Wisdom is anything but.

Norman Wisdom is one of those sort of comedians you either love or hate.I fall in the later category.The fact that he plays a different sort of character alters my judgment of him not one bit.I had never heard of this film let alone seen it.Against my better judgment I decided to give it a go with an open mind.I felt boredom setting in within 10 minutes of the start.Going and making a cup of tea or watching this lying down instead of sitting up didn't remove this numb feeling.It is difficult to understand how Wisdom and the film could be so totally unfunny.This truly has to be one of the worst films that I have seen in a very long time.Unless you have the misfortune to be a Wisdom fan the best advice I can give is to avoid this.

Sir Norman Wisdom is perhaps best known in terms of films for those he made for the Rank organisation, so this film remains a bit of a rare gem. What's nice about it is that we get to see Norman play something a bit different from the Gump character he played in the Rank films. It's a different sort of role, but he excels in it. The story is well paced, and there's some funny moments ('We're British'), not to mention a whole string of well known faces for audiences to look at and go "oh, don't they look young". Sir Norman is much missed.

This is a period comedy based on the Wodehouse story. Although Norman is not in his typical character form he doesn't venture far from his tried and true. If you like Norman's other comedies you'll probably like this. The plot is fairly simple, Norman meets a woman on a ship and he quickly goes to any lengths to win her. That includes learning her joys in life and pretending they are his as well. Like all of Wodehouse tales, this covers the society's upper crust and their rather strange behaviour. Did people actually act that way 100 years ago? A funny little diversion, no masterpiece but bright and breezy enough.

Interesting little piece that I watched for the second time in a few years, with Sir Norman stepping away from his usual film company and breaking away from his normal 'Pitkin' character. Very good he is too, as the upper class twit who falls head over heels in love with a woman who seems to hold the world record at engagements. Excellent support from the rest of the mostly British cast including Richard Briers, Sheila Hancock and the ever-reliable Bernard Cribbins. At the heart of the story is the shallowness of the upper crust which P.G. Wodehouse always captured so well.The script is fine and the direction very good. I one for certainly enjoyed it and on the second viewing even more so. A lovely way to spend an hour and half. They don't make actors such as Sir Norman these days, more's the pity.