IMDb user comments for
Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War (2000)

advertisement

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Index

8 comments in total

---

7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Shirley Valentine grows old, 25 September 2002

Author: taita from Wellington New Zealand

A daring title that may well put a lot of people off but this film is definitely worth a look.

The movie starts with strong overtones of 'Shirley Valentine' (though not as good) as an older Pauline Collins again plays the part of a much put upon not to say bullied wife and mother with no life of her own. There is a small undertone of rebellion even before the fateful day when her husband is laid out for duck or should I say for want of a duck.

Mrs Caldicot finds she does indeed have a mind of her own and starts a small rebellion in the twilight rest home where she has been parked by her son, baulking at the harsh regime and standover tactics of the management.

The story then moves on to an oft repeated scenario of old folks locked away, drugged to the eyeballs to keep them subdued as selfish offspring fulfil their own needs at the expense of the parent. Unfortunately it wont prick the conscience of those guilty of these deeds in real life for two reasons, they wouldn't be able to see themselves up there and they probably wouldn't watch or appreciate a movie of this calibre.

It was fun to see John Alderton up there as an antagonist of Pauline Collins which would have made for some interesting and fiery rehearsals at home I'm sure. Parts of the movie were a little far fetched but added to the overall fun of it. I hope the message got through to viewers about the quality of life for the older generation because there are going to be a lot more of them in the future with the improved health habits and mobility of most aging people. I certainly plan to be one! It may be distressing of course for those who don't have any choice about the long term care of their aged relations, knowing that they may be experiencing these same degrading practices.

Overall a very pleasant 100 minutes of humour, pathos and reckoning and I shall be heartily recommending that my own aged in-laws go and see it.

---

8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Home, sweet home?, 30 August 2006

Author: benbrae76

I viewed and taped this production when it was first shown on TV, and recently had an occasion to re-watch it. I loved it even better the second time around.

It's the tale of a woman forced, by the death of her obnoxious husband and the designs of her avaricious son and his equally greedy wife, to retire to a residential nursing home. She does not find things to her liking. It is run by a strict regime, and although not overly mistreated, the elderly inmates are not exactly handled with due reverence either. The new arrival, Mrs Thelma Caldicot is about to change all that...and how! Hopefully I trust not many (none would be better) of these types of establishments are run as depicted here. Even more so as I'm getting on a bit myself, and one can never be quite certain of the future. However, I have my fingers crossed.

Reminiscent of the American made-for-TV movie, "Amos" (1985) starring an ageing Kirk Douglas, which more poignantly explored a similar theme (as indeed to some extent did a certain two-part episode of "One Foot in the Grave"), "Cabbage War" takes a somewhat less cynical view of things. This results in a robustly delightful, slightly over-the-top comedy, with real life man & wife team John Alderton and Pauline Collins for once in opposition to each other, and playing their parts with perfection and relish. In such a distinguished and superbly chosen cast it's difficult (after Pauline Collins) to pick out the star of the piece. They are all just simply wonderful. Not wishing to spoil it for those who haven't as yet seen it, I won't delve further into the storyline. Suffice it to say that it's one not to be missed.

---

9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Another typically good British film, 22 December 2004

Author: Paul Khanna from London, England

If you knew there was a film based on an old people's home and a mutiny, would you watch? Well I'm glad I did. No guns, no smoking, and no swearing, in fact just what you'd expect being set around wiser folk. Despite lacking these common Hollywood ingredients, Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War proves you only need one thing for good entertainment: a good story.

If the mark of a good story is to bolt the person watching it to their seat, then this film succeeds easily. It also handily changes your view and makes you think.

With the addition of some nice acting and a feel good ending, you won't be left disappointed.

---

8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Star rating: 3 out of 5, 9 January 2004

Author: Jennifer Litchfield from Auckland, New Zealand

Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War didn't reap the acclaim and appreciation it deserved upon its cinematic release, which is a shame because it is an enjoyable and comfortable comedy, but it also touches some raw nerves over the treatment of our senior citizens. Even though many audiences will not be able to identify with the aged protagonists, it doesn't take very long before the viewer is rooting for the 'Wrinkly Revolution', as the oldies thumb their noses at the mean-spirited authorities.

The leader of the backlash is Thelma Caldicot - a downtrodden housewife who is prematurely dumped in a retirement home by her money-hungry son and daughter-in-law. 'Twilight Years' is run by an obsequious manager and an iron-fisted matron, whose goals are to keep the profits rolling in, and the patients doped up and stuffed full of boiled cabbage. Thelma rebels against this and rallies the rest home residents into a large-scale escape, which becomes national news.

There are some lovely character roles; in particular the totally over-the-top rest home management duo, who well deserve whatever just desserts befall them. But was it really necessary to give them a sex scene? Additionally, the love interest for Thelma seems a trifle contrived, and doesn't add to the story at all. Where the narrative really works is when it questions our perceptions of what "old" and "past it" really mean, and that the uncomfortable and embarrassing truth is that it is easier to stuff elderly and confused people full of tranquilisers than it is to genuinely help them. Unfortunately, many of these moving scenes are marred by the overly sentimental score. The bouncy theme tune however is perfect for an occasionally outrageous, very funny, very British comedy that will leave the viewer with a pleasant and upbeat aftertaste.

---

5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A light-hearted romp with bite, 29 October 2002

Author: nhoney1 from Palmerston North, New Zealand

The best comedy is often based on something real. This gives the audience something it can relate to and can provide a real bite to the comedy. The topic may not be funny, as is the case in this movie about how we can mistreat our elderly. But by finding the humour in the subject and poking fun at it, it makes the audience acknowledge the topic, even if only briefly.

The movie is the story of Mrs Caldicot and her fight against bullies for the right to be her own person. It is about the triumph of the 'little woman', that is in the sense of common ordinary folk, although it is also the sort of condescending description that her late unlamented husband may well have used to describe her.

The movie is, however, a caricature, with no shades of grey. The bad guys are so completely bad, the rest home is so horrible, and Mrs Caldicot wins so overwhelmingly. She even ends with a romantic interest. The film makers had evidently decided that as the movie had moved well away from reality, much like several of the inmates at the rest home, they felt no need for any restraint in devising a happy ending. The saddest thing about the film is that even though rest homes are not, I hope, as bad as portrayed, we often do not treat our elderly as well as we could, and in real life there is no happy ending.

However, the movie does not pretend to be anything but a light-hearted comedy. It was always amusing and at times extremely funny. Who would have thought that seeing one of the characters placing a newspaper over his fac e could have been so funny, and there was a delicious irony in the situation he had found himself in. Many of the people in the audience I shared the theatre with were on the mature side of life (alright, old) and they found the movie highly amusing, perhaps because it had a particular resonance for them. They also laughed at several jokes that went right over my head. Never mind, my time will come soon enough.

---

3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
A comic look at what's in store for all of us, 16 January 2005

Author: raymond-15 from Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Some of the scenes in this black comedy might appear a bit farcical but many of them come dangerously close to the truth. Young and old should see this film and then ask themselves whether this is the future they want to look forward to. While medical science has extended our life expectation, no one has successfully resolved the problem of how to look after our aging citizens in a compassionate and dignified manner.

Mrs. Caldicot (Paukine Collins) of sound mind but tricked into joining the retirees in the Twilight Nursing Home after the death of her ever-demanding husband recognizes that life there is sheer hell and sets about re-organizing the establishment. While senior staff seem to thrive on sex and silver service, the old folk repeatedly get large servings of cabbage at mealtimes. And to stop them from complaining, they are all administered regular doses of sedatives.

One of the funniest scenes in the film is when inventive Mrs. Caldicot puts matron out of action and with the help of other old folk prepare a sumptuous feast for all to enjoy with the accompaniment of the best red and white wines.

On expulsion from the Nursing Home for misbehaviour she is unable to return to her own home because her selfish son has already sold it. There is only one thing to do. She puts up at a hotel with the other oldies and they spend up big with the added enjoyment of room service. It's a farcical situation but your heart goes out to them as they enjoy a few moments of happiness.

When the media hears about the commotion at the Nursing Home Mrs Caldicot speaks her mind and becomes a much sought after TV personality. The latter half of the film amusingly shows us how TV interviewers can manipulate people and how investment companies can and do make profits from the plight of old people. There is much food for thought here.

It's all very familiar and one comes to the conclusion that there should be a lot more Mrs. Caldicots willing to stand up and beat the system and to point us in the right direction.

Mrs. Caldicot....we salute you!

---

1 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Cabbage, 6 January 2006

Author: Jack Malvern from London, UK

Pauline Collins, who shone so brightly in Shirley Valentine, fails to rescue this lamely scripted and poorly acted British comedy. The plot concerns Mrs Caldicot, a widow who is tricked out of her house and into a retirement home, where she is sedated and forced to sign over her property to her son.

She soon realises that she and her fellow residents, who are also sedated to keep them quiet, are being treated unfairly and foments a rebellion against the home's smarmy manager.

But this comedic take on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is mired in pantomime-quality acting and naive plotting in which old people are never disorientated or distressed, and journalists pay for scores of pensioners to be put up in a country house hotel.

I have no idea what Vernon Coleman's novel was like, but it is unlikely that the set decorator who adapted it made many improvements.

It made just £16,400 at the British box office. I would be surprised if most of those who parted with their money did not ask for it back.

---

2 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Cabbage is better, 28 January 2004

Author: alan.hughes from Greenock, Scotland

This is a dreadful waste of celluloid. A trite, unfunny collection of stereotypes with no humour or true feeling.

The targets are easy but this film still manages to miss them

Even with the flu and trapped on the sofa watching the box with no concentration this was still not up to par

---

---

Add another comment

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Ratings	Awards
External reviews	Plot keywords	Main details
Your user comments	Your vote history