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Mike Bassett: England Manager

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

One man, one goal, one vision, one brain cell.

With only three games left for England to qualify in the Soccer World Cup, disaster strikes... the manager of the national team suffers a near fatal heart attack. With no one else to turn to, Football's top brass hire Mike Bassett (Ricky Tomlinson), the inept manager of a very minor league club.

Persons of interest

Ricky Tomlinson .... Mike Bassett
Amanda Redman .... Karine Bassett
Bradley Walsh .... Dave Dodds
Philip Jackson .... Lonnie Urquart
Phill Jupitus .... Tommo Thompson
Dean Lennox Kelly .... Kevin Tonkinson
John Alford .... Deano
Keith Allen .... Himself
Andy Ansah .... Super
Julian Ballantine .... Robbo
Sue Barker .... Herself
Geoff Bell .... Gary Wackett
Dickie Bird .... Himself
John R Smith .... Screenwriter
Rob Sprackling .... Screenwriter
Steve Barron .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Awards and film festivals:

Mike Bassett: England Manager official movie sites:

English Football Association

Mike Bassett: England Manager QuickTime movie trailers
See also Purely belter

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Mike Bassett: England Manager is a mockumentary that almost reaches the same heady heights as This is Spinal Tap.

Mike Bassett is a B-grade man thrust into an A-grade world. His initial success despite failing miserably is a wonderful poke in the eye for big sporting organisations with big sporting systems and big sporting formulae. His failure to live up to the job provides some great moments of humour and pathos (if there's a difference). Ultimately there is a happy ending (it takes a real bastard to kick an underdog when he's down and John R Smith and Rob Sprackling are not bastards) but it is that kind of victory that is more about achievement than it is about success. Like South Korea's achievement in the 2002 Soccer World Cup, losers can be winners.

Ricky Tomlinson is perfectly cast as the hapless Mike Bassett, bringing a smallness of character to the role despite his large stature. Mike is the type of man who is doing a job that anyone could do but most people don't have the opportunity (or desire) to do. He fell into the position because no-one had the heart to tell him that he's useless. If they'd done that 30 years ago, England would've been spared a lot of grief (not to mention the managers of the 14 clubs for which he played). But everyone loves an underdog - and Mike Bassett is nothing if not an underdog - and there is no greater victory than that of the underdog over the overdog. That lets you laugh (or cringe) at Mike's failings while simultaneously rooting for him to win. It's a process that is exploited by many filmmakers and tabloid newspapers.

Mike Bassett: England Manager is a biting, witty although ultimately soppy movie that leaves you with that heart-warming, feel-good, warm fuzziness that little English underdog films are so good at making you feel. It's all good. Enjoy.