As someone else has said regarding this film 'I could have done with less slapstick and more satire'. Yep. The satire is most definitely there and it's funny but the slapstick is lame warmed over nonsense and should just be fast forwarded through. Redgrave and Tushingham are great fun together and the supporting cast all pitch in nicely, ghastly stereotypes excepted. It's a film I have long been curious about and now that I've seen it I feel as if I've been rewarded with a bright and zippy laugh out loud at times comedy (somewhat of a rare commodity these days) and an affectionate look at what I suppose is now a lost world.
33 Reviews
Lunacy
craigboney21 April 2001
WARNING : This is a very silly film. :D . Therefore, watching it in the right state of mind will make you laugh a lot. You will be irritated if in the wrong mood.
The story of two northern lasses, Yyvone and Brenda (Redgrave & Tushingham) who come to London to get down with the cool hepcats. The film documents in astonishing cinema-verite style the trials and tribulations of late 60's living and partying. There is fantastic irony in some sections of the film, particularly the Gauche perfume adverts that Brenda does..truly astonishing in fact - examples of post-modernism at it's finest. Michael York is wonderfully hammy as the swinging photographer who weaves in and out of Yyvone and Bren's lives on a regular basis with only thought of himself.
Two fantastic restaurant sequences as well...you just can't beat a good food fight! I must admit I've always had a huge crush on Rita Tushingham, which helped me through some of the lamer comedy moments, but overall it's light enough to be enjoyable.
Oh yeah, the music is absolutely awful, but I think that's intended. At least I hope so..please tell me it's meant to be a parody??
6/10.
The story of two northern lasses, Yyvone and Brenda (Redgrave & Tushingham) who come to London to get down with the cool hepcats. The film documents in astonishing cinema-verite style the trials and tribulations of late 60's living and partying. There is fantastic irony in some sections of the film, particularly the Gauche perfume adverts that Brenda does..truly astonishing in fact - examples of post-modernism at it's finest. Michael York is wonderfully hammy as the swinging photographer who weaves in and out of Yyvone and Bren's lives on a regular basis with only thought of himself.
Two fantastic restaurant sequences as well...you just can't beat a good food fight! I must admit I've always had a huge crush on Rita Tushingham, which helped me through some of the lamer comedy moments, but overall it's light enough to be enjoyable.
Oh yeah, the music is absolutely awful, but I think that's intended. At least I hope so..please tell me it's meant to be a parody??
6/10.
Pop madness from the groovy streets of 60s London
karl-a-hughes9 May 2011
I watched this film in its entirety on Youtube (May 2011) and am glad that I did. This film is a time capsule of the styles and faces of the mid-late 1960s and of 'groovy' London. The film offers a cornucopia of great faces of British comedy, all of which add to the mayhem of a loosely directed, pie-in-your-face slapstick comedy.
This film presents you with several extended pie-fight sequences, sixties songs (none of which are famous) and lots and lots of London scenery, the film being shot entirely on location. None of the cast are taking this film seriously and the result is actually quite funny, and adequately entertaining to hold attention for 100 minutes. Rather than feel dated this film is more of a time capsule of an era some 45 years old.
In short, the film is good humoured and worth seeking out. Play spot the actor and cringe at the naff songs which are interspersed throughout the movie. It's too much.
This film presents you with several extended pie-fight sequences, sixties songs (none of which are famous) and lots and lots of London scenery, the film being shot entirely on location. None of the cast are taking this film seriously and the result is actually quite funny, and adequately entertaining to hold attention for 100 minutes. Rather than feel dated this film is more of a time capsule of an era some 45 years old.
In short, the film is good humoured and worth seeking out. Play spot the actor and cringe at the naff songs which are interspersed throughout the movie. It's too much.
I love this bizarre, wacky film
gs217 November 2001
Shortly after seeing this film in 1991 I was offered my 'dream' job and found myself heading down from the north to live in London for the first time. Just like the two girls in this crazy movie.
I loved this when I first saw it. And when I watch it now, it also captures some of the excitement that I felt back in '91.
London is a magical place with a unique feel. I was on a 'high' for the first few months, with a tingle down my spine whenever I walked around famous places. Even now I can't walk down Carnaby Street without visualising Lynn Redgrave skipping down it in the fast-cut musical sequence in Smashing Time. Many of the songs are, to be honest, quite bad. But they are also rather catchy and so stick in the mind.
There are many satirical swipes at the culture of the time. The photographer (Michael York) is David Hemmings in Blow Up. Rita Tushingham is the model Twiggy and Lynn Redgrave is pop star Helen Shapiro. The TV show is Candid Camera.
The '60's slang is also set up. The girls search for a 'switched on' pad and Anna Quayle runs a shop called 'Too Much'. When Rita Tushingham asks if customers won't be put off by the name (in the sense that the goods are 'too' expensive) the true meaning of the phrase is explained to her. The goods are just 'too much' (ie. mind blowing).
John Clive is at his best as the rather camp and slightly Jewish owner of Sweeney Todd's pie restaurant. The pie fight itself is well executed with some neat comic touches, such as the 'queen' who shoots himself when his fashionable suit is hit by a flying pie.
Indeed, Smashing Time is something of a gay cult classic. Murray Melvin appears as a gay character (as he did a few years earlier in A Taste of Honey, again with Rita Tushingham).
Other familar faces of the period include Arthur Mullard, Irene Handl and Ian Carmichael and there are interesting glimpses of locations as they were 30 years ago -- including the railway station at St. Pancras.
This is definitely a film you will want to watch again and again. You'll never tire of the musical and comic set pieces.
Unfortunately it is very rarely shown on TV in Britain. I haven't seen it on terrestrial TV since 1991 and it is not currently available on either video or DVD in the UK.
G.
I loved this when I first saw it. And when I watch it now, it also captures some of the excitement that I felt back in '91.
London is a magical place with a unique feel. I was on a 'high' for the first few months, with a tingle down my spine whenever I walked around famous places. Even now I can't walk down Carnaby Street without visualising Lynn Redgrave skipping down it in the fast-cut musical sequence in Smashing Time. Many of the songs are, to be honest, quite bad. But they are also rather catchy and so stick in the mind.
There are many satirical swipes at the culture of the time. The photographer (Michael York) is David Hemmings in Blow Up. Rita Tushingham is the model Twiggy and Lynn Redgrave is pop star Helen Shapiro. The TV show is Candid Camera.
The '60's slang is also set up. The girls search for a 'switched on' pad and Anna Quayle runs a shop called 'Too Much'. When Rita Tushingham asks if customers won't be put off by the name (in the sense that the goods are 'too' expensive) the true meaning of the phrase is explained to her. The goods are just 'too much' (ie. mind blowing).
John Clive is at his best as the rather camp and slightly Jewish owner of Sweeney Todd's pie restaurant. The pie fight itself is well executed with some neat comic touches, such as the 'queen' who shoots himself when his fashionable suit is hit by a flying pie.
Indeed, Smashing Time is something of a gay cult classic. Murray Melvin appears as a gay character (as he did a few years earlier in A Taste of Honey, again with Rita Tushingham).
Other familar faces of the period include Arthur Mullard, Irene Handl and Ian Carmichael and there are interesting glimpses of locations as they were 30 years ago -- including the railway station at St. Pancras.
This is definitely a film you will want to watch again and again. You'll never tire of the musical and comic set pieces.
Unfortunately it is very rarely shown on TV in Britain. I haven't seen it on terrestrial TV since 1991 and it is not currently available on either video or DVD in the UK.
G.
Not A Great Film But One You Sort Of Let Take Hold Of You
IanIndependent3 July 2020
Rita Tushingham is head and shoulders above anything in this film and the film as a whole. Lynn Redgrave gives a decent performance but her role doesn't allow for anything much more than camp laughs.
These two are the stars and do keep you watching but as you watch you find yourself dropping to the films level and into its rhythm. Maybe, I wasn't into either its humour or pace because I was watching it for the first time over half a century after the audience it was made for. I have watched many films in the past from this era, 'Up The Junction' for example, that I enjoyed without seeming to have to adapt to the time and there's others so that it's age isn't an excuse. I just found that the humour was predictable and silly at first. However, as mentioned, as it went on I got quite engrossed and I can only put that down to the quality of the lead characters.
Not a film I would recommend but one I would be embarrassed to say I liked.
These two are the stars and do keep you watching but as you watch you find yourself dropping to the films level and into its rhythm. Maybe, I wasn't into either its humour or pace because I was watching it for the first time over half a century after the audience it was made for. I have watched many films in the past from this era, 'Up The Junction' for example, that I enjoyed without seeming to have to adapt to the time and there's others so that it's age isn't an excuse. I just found that the humour was predictable and silly at first. However, as mentioned, as it went on I got quite engrossed and I can only put that down to the quality of the lead characters.
Not a film I would recommend but one I would be embarrassed to say I liked.
Swinging London zeitgeist film is sadly a little disappointing
vampire_hounddog9 October 2020
Two girls from up North (Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave) arrive in London looking for a town that swings and to make it, but instead find a craziness that they did not expect.
A swinging sixties zeitgeist film if there ever was one. It would probably have been better made or handled if directed by the likes of Michael Winner or Ken Russell with its sketchy old fashioned slapstick comedy skits that come in abundance that many of their films seem to contain. It's all a little too episodic, but the best thing about the film, other than the ever reliable and wonderful Rita Tushingham is the look and colour of the film and the London locations, even if it is a food fight in a good old fashioned worker's caff.
A swinging sixties zeitgeist film if there ever was one. It would probably have been better made or handled if directed by the likes of Michael Winner or Ken Russell with its sketchy old fashioned slapstick comedy skits that come in abundance that many of their films seem to contain. It's all a little too episodic, but the best thing about the film, other than the ever reliable and wonderful Rita Tushingham is the look and colour of the film and the London locations, even if it is a food fight in a good old fashioned worker's caff.
Smashing
peterwburrows-7077414 May 2021
wretched
cherold10 February 2014
The credits for Smashing Time serve as fair warning for what is to follow. Ugly caricatures of the stars are show over an abysmal song sung badly by the movie's stars, Tushingham and Redgrave. It is painful.
It is also accurate. The movie itself has the stars playing broad, unlikable, and unfunny caricatures.
Billed as a satire, for the most part this is low comedy. This is a notably awful scene in a diner in which everyone is squirting every else with various substances. What it lacks in originality and humor it makes up through length; it goes on and on.
There are watchable moments - art robots on a rampage, the recording of a pop song - but even at its best it is uninspired. And it is rarely at its best.
It is also accurate. The movie itself has the stars playing broad, unlikable, and unfunny caricatures.
Billed as a satire, for the most part this is low comedy. This is a notably awful scene in a diner in which everyone is squirting every else with various substances. What it lacks in originality and humor it makes up through length; it goes on and on.
There are watchable moments - art robots on a rampage, the recording of a pop song - but even at its best it is uninspired. And it is rarely at its best.
smashing good fun...
als312 April 2005
look, if you are looking for deep meaning - or songs that make you want to sing along, then you're looking in the wrong place.
but if you want a kitschy look (i bet even at the time of release!) at the mid-sixties, then look no further! come on! lynn redgrave as a pop-starlet? rita tushingham as a supermodel?? michael york as a photog???? what could be better??? the scenes of lynn belting out her "hit" song are worthy of admission alone! i was also grateful for some of the shots of carnaby street in it's hayday - god, i just wish i were there! this is a movie that mike myers very obviously borrowed from to create austin powers. it has a lot of the same sensibilities.
see the original - maybe skim by most of the songs... but enjoy the ride!
but if you want a kitschy look (i bet even at the time of release!) at the mid-sixties, then look no further! come on! lynn redgrave as a pop-starlet? rita tushingham as a supermodel?? michael york as a photog???? what could be better??? the scenes of lynn belting out her "hit" song are worthy of admission alone! i was also grateful for some of the shots of carnaby street in it's hayday - god, i just wish i were there! this is a movie that mike myers very obviously borrowed from to create austin powers. it has a lot of the same sensibilities.
see the original - maybe skim by most of the songs... but enjoy the ride!
A stark raving mod mishmash
Eegah Guy16 November 2001
I wanted to like this movie so much more. The episodic and cartoonish approach should work within the late 60s pop-art Mod London setting but too much slapstick (pie and spray paint fights) and a lagging pace keep this from being the true cult film it should have been. Tushingham (with her big bulging eyes) and Redgrave (who looks a bit like Jay Leno) are well cast and there are plenty of wild fashions on display but the film never really gains any momentum until the last 20 minutes or so. I also liked the bit where Redgrave records a typically mindless but catchy pop song. Fun to watch once but not something you'll revisit again and again. Try to see the widescreen DVD which really does justice to all the wild color schemes on display.
Almost totally stupid
withnail-46 March 2001
Lame almost to an Ed Wood level of lame. Incredibly, these same people (Lynne Redgrave, Tushingham, and director Desmond Davis) made a great movie called GIRL WITH GREEN EYES, but don't watch this one expecting anything like GIRL WITH GREEN EYES, THE KNACK, or GEORGY GIRL. Those are all great compared to this. It's like a long, slow episode of "Lavern and Shirley".
Two Northern Girls Destroy Swinging London
ShadeGrenade2 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
A 1966 article in Time magazine started what became known as the 'Swinging London' phenomenon, alleging young people were migrating southwards in droves, hoping to find an exciting new way of life. Movies leapt on the bandwagon. 'Smashing Time' teamed the stars of two of the decade's most iconic films - Lynn Redgrave from 'Georgy Girl' and Rita Tushingham from 'A Taste Of Honey'. They play 'Yvonne' and 'Brenda', a pair of Northern girls who travel to London in search of fame and fortune. They search for Carnaby Street, but a drunken Irishman ( George A.Cooper ) sends them instead to Camden Street where they are robbed by an old tramp ( Sydney Bromley ). Yvonne gets a job as a nightclub hostess, and is almost seduced by caddish Bobby Mame-Rath ( Ian Carmichael ).
After winning a cash prize on a T.V. show, Yvonne gambles her winnings on a bid for the pop charts. The resulting single - 'I'm So Young' - makes it to the top. Brenda becomes a Jean Shrimpton-type model. Needless to say, their fame proves only fleeting, and the film ends with them going home.
Had 'Smashing Time' been made five years earlier, it would probably have conformed to the 'kitchen sink' melodramas in vogue at the time. But, by 1967, 'with-it' comedies such as Richard Lester's 'The Knack' were wanted audiences wanted. Quick-fire dialogue exchanges, montages, jump-cuts, wipes, anything can happen and it does. 'Time' pays homage to 'Swinging London' while simultaneously deconstructing its myth. Pop stars, art, fashion, music, the sexual revolution, all are sent up rotten by writer George Melly and director Desmond Davis. In one of my favourite scenes, avant-garde exhibits ( designed and built by Bruce Lacey ) come to life in an art gallery and terrorise patrons ( Brenda being pursued by a kissing machine must be seen to be believed! ) while another has Yvonne on a 'Candid Camera'-style show entitled 'You Can't Help Laughing!'. Peter Jones' smirking host presides over a wholesale demolition of a sweet old lady's house while the owner is out, and it is not far removed from the kind of cruelty that passes for light entertainment nowadays.
I would have preferred less slapstick and more satire. The fight in the café goes on forever, and is unnecessary to begin with. Arthur Mullard and Irene Handl pop up, along with Anna Quayle and Jeremy Lloyd ( the latter particularly good as a pop impresario ). Michael York plays 'Tom Wabe', a dig at David Bailey-type Cockney photographers. Murray Melvin and Paul Danquah, both of whom co-starred with Tushingham in 'A Taste Of Honey', appear in cameo roles.
The finale is set in the revolving restaurant in the Post Office Tower. At a lavish showbiz party, Yvonne falls backwards into a cake, everyone laughs at her, and, to get revenge, Brenda causes the restaurant to spin faster and faster. Guests are pinned to the walls by centrifugal force. Power stations blow up. London is plunged into darkness. Our girls have had the last laugh.
The music is fab, particularly 'I'm So Young' which really could have been a Top Ten hit had someone bothered to release it. Great, groovy fun, a museum piece but well worth tracking down. And Redgrave looks gear in that blonde wig!
After winning a cash prize on a T.V. show, Yvonne gambles her winnings on a bid for the pop charts. The resulting single - 'I'm So Young' - makes it to the top. Brenda becomes a Jean Shrimpton-type model. Needless to say, their fame proves only fleeting, and the film ends with them going home.
Had 'Smashing Time' been made five years earlier, it would probably have conformed to the 'kitchen sink' melodramas in vogue at the time. But, by 1967, 'with-it' comedies such as Richard Lester's 'The Knack' were wanted audiences wanted. Quick-fire dialogue exchanges, montages, jump-cuts, wipes, anything can happen and it does. 'Time' pays homage to 'Swinging London' while simultaneously deconstructing its myth. Pop stars, art, fashion, music, the sexual revolution, all are sent up rotten by writer George Melly and director Desmond Davis. In one of my favourite scenes, avant-garde exhibits ( designed and built by Bruce Lacey ) come to life in an art gallery and terrorise patrons ( Brenda being pursued by a kissing machine must be seen to be believed! ) while another has Yvonne on a 'Candid Camera'-style show entitled 'You Can't Help Laughing!'. Peter Jones' smirking host presides over a wholesale demolition of a sweet old lady's house while the owner is out, and it is not far removed from the kind of cruelty that passes for light entertainment nowadays.
I would have preferred less slapstick and more satire. The fight in the café goes on forever, and is unnecessary to begin with. Arthur Mullard and Irene Handl pop up, along with Anna Quayle and Jeremy Lloyd ( the latter particularly good as a pop impresario ). Michael York plays 'Tom Wabe', a dig at David Bailey-type Cockney photographers. Murray Melvin and Paul Danquah, both of whom co-starred with Tushingham in 'A Taste Of Honey', appear in cameo roles.
The finale is set in the revolving restaurant in the Post Office Tower. At a lavish showbiz party, Yvonne falls backwards into a cake, everyone laughs at her, and, to get revenge, Brenda causes the restaurant to spin faster and faster. Guests are pinned to the walls by centrifugal force. Power stations blow up. London is plunged into darkness. Our girls have had the last laugh.
The music is fab, particularly 'I'm So Young' which really could have been a Top Ten hit had someone bothered to release it. Great, groovy fun, a museum piece but well worth tracking down. And Redgrave looks gear in that blonde wig!
Nonsense, but a Whole Lot of Fun
ldeangelis-7570815 December 2022
A movie not to be taken seriously, just to be enjoyed! It crosses the Swinging 60's with the Slapstick 30's and does rather well. (Try some liquid manure for a topping, you never know!) There's one funny, crazy, outrageous situation after another to get your attention and keep it.
While there's no way you can believe that two unknown young women take a trip to London (no, not an acid one) and overnight go from waitress to fashion model, to singer, to famed photographer's girlfriend, to whatever, and back again, you can just enjoy the performances of Lynn Redgrave, and Rita Tushingham, and thrown in Michael York for good measure, and just have fun!
While there's no way you can believe that two unknown young women take a trip to London (no, not an acid one) and overnight go from waitress to fashion model, to singer, to famed photographer's girlfriend, to whatever, and back again, you can just enjoy the performances of Lynn Redgrave, and Rita Tushingham, and thrown in Michael York for good measure, and just have fun!
Unwatchable
harold-godwinson5 July 2020
Swinging London was almost like this
chris-11243 June 2003
I was living in London when this film opened, and it now seems an oddly accurate time capsule of the period, somewhere between trendy and tatty. Critics hated the film for trying to create a female Laurel and Hardy, but now it's the colours, the clothes and the attitude that seems right (although it's hard to forgive those helium-voiced gay stereotypes). Trivia note; the character names and places, pieced together, form most of the first verse of 'Jabberwocky', suggesting the intention to create a new Alice in Wonderland.
Not as smashing as I would have like it to be
Figgiedan3 January 2001
Really a dumb movie, slightly funny at times but very dated and painful to watch at other times. There were some genuinely smart and fun ideas (like the Yvonne hit single) but then it turns into a piefight. Ridiculous. Apparently the filmmakers must've been straight and sober filming one half and getting high filming the other half. Was hoping to see some of historical "Carnaby Street" on film, but it was just too silly. Also, what's up with Lynn Redgrave in that opening scene, she looks like she's a goddamn giant! Grade 6 out of 10. D-.
Not half as funny as it thinks it is
malcolmgsw10 August 2020
This is a typical product of the swinging sixties.All style little substance.Written by of all people George Melly.Everything is far over the top.Lynn Redgrave seems to babble and shout her lines making them hard to hear.There are some funny moments such as Peter Jones as the Candid Camera type host.However this is overwhelmed by the unfunny custard pie sketch.
It's a like a skoshy good flick, ya' know?
Cinepro-24 October 1999
This movie made me feel like I had swooshed back in time to swingin' London of the '60's, Austin Powers style. If you dig the scene, trip out and have a winner time. If you're gonna be square, rent "84 Charing Crossroads" and box your mind. This groove is for real with frosty tunes and wailin' laughs. Cheery-oh.
Swinging Sixties London? May have looked OK on paper.
Tony-Holmes15 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This film popped up on Talking Pictures recently, a channel that shows lots of older movies, a few of them great, many not so. I was around in the 60s, and might have enjoyed this at the time, wondering if 'glamorous' London really was. There were quite a few films like this, and TV shows, desperate to be in the moment, packed with fun moments, jazzy title sequence, lively music, never letting the characters have many downer moments for too long.
Quite a few reviews on here have indulged this movie ("just a bit of fun") and I'd have to say that it's not to be discarded lightly. No, it should be hurled with great force from a height, so it travels away from you, it really is the most abysmal tripe.
Rita Tushingham & Lynn Redgrave do their best (hence the 2 that I generously gave the film), but the script gives them little chance to shine, the director wants to keep teen audiences happy by showing thighs and mini-skirts, and some well known supporting faces ham it up as directed. The script (?!) seems to have had 2 glaring holes, and to help pass an hour and an excruciating half we're given 2 painfully long slapstick sequences, one a fight squirting tomato sauce, mustard, etc in a greasy spoon cafe, the other one throwing custard pies in a restaurant helpfully serving pies. I may have misjudged the last half hour, as I fell into a deep slumber in the pie chucking section, but I doubt it suddenly leapt into an award winning presentation, especially as the Razzies (for on-screen drivel) hadn't been invented then. The film DOES have some shots of London in that period, so a few people wanting to reminisce might enjoy that side of things, but otherwise I'd say the whole thing was a waste of the fag packet it was dreamed up on.
Quite a few reviews on here have indulged this movie ("just a bit of fun") and I'd have to say that it's not to be discarded lightly. No, it should be hurled with great force from a height, so it travels away from you, it really is the most abysmal tripe.
Rita Tushingham & Lynn Redgrave do their best (hence the 2 that I generously gave the film), but the script gives them little chance to shine, the director wants to keep teen audiences happy by showing thighs and mini-skirts, and some well known supporting faces ham it up as directed. The script (?!) seems to have had 2 glaring holes, and to help pass an hour and an excruciating half we're given 2 painfully long slapstick sequences, one a fight squirting tomato sauce, mustard, etc in a greasy spoon cafe, the other one throwing custard pies in a restaurant helpfully serving pies. I may have misjudged the last half hour, as I fell into a deep slumber in the pie chucking section, but I doubt it suddenly leapt into an award winning presentation, especially as the Razzies (for on-screen drivel) hadn't been invented then. The film DOES have some shots of London in that period, so a few people wanting to reminisce might enjoy that side of things, but otherwise I'd say the whole thing was a waste of the fag packet it was dreamed up on.
Great satire on 1960's London youth culture!
Jemiah10 March 1999
I can't believe Leonard Maltin dissed this picture -- it's a rare gem of trippy brilliance, influential as hell on arbiters of style like "Absolutely Fabulous" and the "Austin Power" series. Lynn Redgrave (!), fresh out of "Georgy Girl", bumbles through looking like a great big blonde lovable cow in a succession of astonishing wigs, while her costar Rita Tushingham (!!) veers back and forth from frumpy/frowny to slapstick/mime to The Face of the 60's. The humor is broad and scatological, but cutting when its satire -- sample song lyric: "I can't sing, but I'm young!!" If you can find it, grab it.
Dated
crumpytv17 April 2021
An attempt to to cash in on The Swinging Sixties. There were a number of films made of this ilk, trying to mix the sixties vibe with surrealism and slapstick humour, but this fails to deliver. It looks so dated and is just inexplicably poor.
A waste of the talents of Lynne Redgrave and Rita Tushingham.
A waste of the talents of Lynne Redgrave and Rita Tushingham.
Cult Movie Sadly Unloved in its Own Time
Shilpot71 August 2012
This film is the personification of London in the swinging '60s.
Two clumsy girls come down from the North of England, in search of the 'Swinging London scene' they've read so much about in their teen mags.
After much tomfoolery, they 'make it'.
Yvonne played by Lynn Redgrave makes it as a pop star and her mousey friend, Brenda (Rita Tushingham) becomes a top model, adorning the covers of all the top glossy fashion magazines.
Unfortunately, it takes quite a while for things to happen, also, unfortunately, there are too many overly long, unfunny slapstick-pie- throwing scenes before the the action really takes off, but it's worth the wait.
From the moment Yvonne goes into the studio to cut her first hit single, the film starts to fly.
The clothes, the cars, the energy, the excitement of that fleeting moment when London was the coolest place on earth are captured here more than in any other film made at the time. Although the film set out to mock the era, almost unintentionally it caught Zeitgeist, unlike the many other films of the time, that tried so hard to capture what was going on and fell flat on their faces.
Smashing Time was supposed to have been made in 1966 at the height of the Swinging London madness, but it was delayed and delayed, it was finally released in early 1968, by which time people had become very jaded with the notion of 'the swinging city'. Things moved very fast back then. What was in in '66 was very old hat by '68 and the film flopped only to be rediscovered many years later. It now has quite a following and it warrants the retrospective love it gets.
A top notch DVD with tons of extras is long overdue, so the young generations of the past, present and future can have a good look at what '60s London was really like.
Two clumsy girls come down from the North of England, in search of the 'Swinging London scene' they've read so much about in their teen mags.
After much tomfoolery, they 'make it'.
Yvonne played by Lynn Redgrave makes it as a pop star and her mousey friend, Brenda (Rita Tushingham) becomes a top model, adorning the covers of all the top glossy fashion magazines.
Unfortunately, it takes quite a while for things to happen, also, unfortunately, there are too many overly long, unfunny slapstick-pie- throwing scenes before the the action really takes off, but it's worth the wait.
From the moment Yvonne goes into the studio to cut her first hit single, the film starts to fly.
The clothes, the cars, the energy, the excitement of that fleeting moment when London was the coolest place on earth are captured here more than in any other film made at the time. Although the film set out to mock the era, almost unintentionally it caught Zeitgeist, unlike the many other films of the time, that tried so hard to capture what was going on and fell flat on their faces.
Smashing Time was supposed to have been made in 1966 at the height of the Swinging London madness, but it was delayed and delayed, it was finally released in early 1968, by which time people had become very jaded with the notion of 'the swinging city'. Things moved very fast back then. What was in in '66 was very old hat by '68 and the film flopped only to be rediscovered many years later. It now has quite a following and it warrants the retrospective love it gets.
A top notch DVD with tons of extras is long overdue, so the young generations of the past, present and future can have a good look at what '60s London was really like.
Simply dreadful attempt.....at something.
MartynGryphon20 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Smashing Time is a movie that doesn't actually know what the hell it is or even supposed to be. It's a comedy of sorts, then it's a musical, then it's a romance film and it pretty much fails at being all three.
Lynn Redgrave and Rita Tushingham play two Northern girls that arrive in London seeking their fame and fortune and the entire film is pretty much just a series of vignettes showing the ups and downs the pair experience after getting off the train. Neither of the two leads are particularly likeable and they proceed to screech their way through the terrible songs the script requires them to sing. 'CAAAAAARNABY STREET' being a particular annoying example.
However, as disappointing as the film ultimately turns out to be, it is a great look at swinging sixties London in 1967 in its full psychedelic glory. The colours and the visuals are amazing as are the fashions of the day, sadly a period which was all too short as within a few years, it was all over and 70's blandness took over. In fact, the film would have been better just being a travelogue of Hip and Trendy London instead of the focussing on the weak as all hell plot.
Written by George Melly of all people, the skits rarely succeed in raising a smile and the film tends to repeat itself at times and if you want to know what's worse than a film with a food fight to progress the plot, it's a film with TWO food fights to progress the plot although in one we do see the band The Tomorrow featuring a young pre-Yes Steve Howe getting some cream thrown right in his boat race.
The all-star cast fails to rescue it either with names like Michael York, Ian Carmichael, Irene Handl, Anna Quale, Peter Jones, David Lodge, Jeremy Lloyd and Arthur Mullard just doing the minimum the script requires and taking the money and running away.
It's just a shame that one of the few movies made in and around London in this period that actually utilised location shooting didn't turn better than it was.
Lynn Redgrave and Rita Tushingham play two Northern girls that arrive in London seeking their fame and fortune and the entire film is pretty much just a series of vignettes showing the ups and downs the pair experience after getting off the train. Neither of the two leads are particularly likeable and they proceed to screech their way through the terrible songs the script requires them to sing. 'CAAAAAARNABY STREET' being a particular annoying example.
However, as disappointing as the film ultimately turns out to be, it is a great look at swinging sixties London in 1967 in its full psychedelic glory. The colours and the visuals are amazing as are the fashions of the day, sadly a period which was all too short as within a few years, it was all over and 70's blandness took over. In fact, the film would have been better just being a travelogue of Hip and Trendy London instead of the focussing on the weak as all hell plot.
Written by George Melly of all people, the skits rarely succeed in raising a smile and the film tends to repeat itself at times and if you want to know what's worse than a film with a food fight to progress the plot, it's a film with TWO food fights to progress the plot although in one we do see the band The Tomorrow featuring a young pre-Yes Steve Howe getting some cream thrown right in his boat race.
The all-star cast fails to rescue it either with names like Michael York, Ian Carmichael, Irene Handl, Anna Quale, Peter Jones, David Lodge, Jeremy Lloyd and Arthur Mullard just doing the minimum the script requires and taking the money and running away.
It's just a shame that one of the few movies made in and around London in this period that actually utilised location shooting didn't turn better than it was.
enjoyable Sixties amusement
wvisser-leusden31 October 2009
'Smashing time' is a well-made English comedy, set in the famous Swinging London of the mid-Sixties. And shot in the same city in the same period, adding extra authenticity.
This film is just fun, without any pretense. The hilarious interaction between Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave, successfully coupled as girlfriends, makes it work. Some of its scenes are clearly inspired by Laurel and Hardy.
'Girlfriends', I said. This friendship between the two heterosexual female leads is devoid of any sex. Such a formula wouldn't probably sell today, but back in the Sixties it did. A friendship of this kind makes this film's core.
This film is just fun, without any pretense. The hilarious interaction between Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave, successfully coupled as girlfriends, makes it work. Some of its scenes are clearly inspired by Laurel and Hardy.
'Girlfriends', I said. This friendship between the two heterosexual female leads is devoid of any sex. Such a formula wouldn't probably sell today, but back in the Sixties it did. A friendship of this kind makes this film's core.
strong swinging London pic with a hefty dose of anarchy
Matt Moses13 May 2001
Swinging London produced more good music than film, if you ask me, but this anarchistic comedy falls among the better productions of the era. Writer George Melly (who apparently also appeared in Makaveyev's Sweet Movie) presents a wild series of episodes structured around a marginal narrative. Gum snapping Lynn Redgrave and big-eyed Rita Tushingham relocate from their small rural town to happening London and instantly their life savings get stolen. When they're unable to pay for their slap-up breakfast, Tushingham quickly secures a job washing dishes and just as quickly loses it after an impromptu paint and food fight. Meanwhile, Redgrave has secured jobs as nightclub hostesses. Seedy customer Ian Carmichael picks up Redgrave but Tushingham succeeds in saving her friends' chastity. Trendy fashion photographer Michael York somehow enters the scene by capitalizing off a humiliating picture of Redgrave, then instigating a pie fight at her new workplace (a restaurant that only serves pies, natch). When the girls return to their house, they find it has been destroyed as part of a TV prank and fortuitously receive 10,000 pounds in return. And this is when the story really explodes. Redgrave uses the money to sponsor her career as pop artist, which explodes overnight. There's a brilliant recording studio sequence that takes a hefty stab at prefabricated artistic product: Redgrave's song sounds terrible while recorded but excellent in playback. Concurrent to Redgrave's rise to stardom, awkward Tushingham achieves equal fame as a fashion model for new boyfriend York, and the two friends begin to despise one another. Smashing Time proceeds with a number of parties, destructive humor and a passable conclusion. Throughout the film, non-diagetic narrative songs document the characters' moods. This unusual device and other creative moments, including a dandy so distraught by getting pied that he commits suicide, evidence an adventurous force behind the script. Indeed, director Desmond Davis barely makes his presence felt. Unlike most films driven by the written word, this film's script would allow for a great finished product with any director with an adequate budget. Storytelling, after all, needs act as film's primary purpose and thus occasionally a film such as Smashing Time indicates that the director does not necessarily need to act as a film's primary author. This film also offers a valuable historic treatment of London during a particularly unique phase. Then well-known psych group Tomorrow show up all over the film, possibly as a stab at authenticity but effective if so. Nevertheless, their music does not actually appear in the movie; we're treated instead to a few songs by the undeservedly less famous group Skip Bifferty.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
