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Product Description: A bored English housewife accepts a friend's invitation to vacation in Greece where she quickly recaptures her rebellious youthful spirit and begins a wild fling with a Greek man.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 1-MAY-2007
Media Type: DVD Amazon.com: As movie midlife crises go, Shirley Valentine's is a doozy. A bored Northern England housewife, wondering what her life is about and how to navigate around her clueless husband, Shirley would be at her wits' end--except that she knows how to dream big. As played by the incomparable Pauline Collins (who created the role on Broadway, and won a Tony for it), Shirley embraces not only her own constricted life, but the dreams of the big, beautiful world beyond it. Directed by Lewis Gilbert (Educating Rita), Shirley Valentine is an anthem to the freedom of the soul--with a generous dose of salt of the earth. As she assesses her life, Shirley's humor never fails her: "I think sex is like supermarkets, you know, overrated. Just a lot of pushing and shoving and you still come out with very little at the end." Yet Collins' Shirley gets as much out of defending her right to her dream (a sunny holiday in Greece) as she does realizing it, and that makes for much of the glow of the film. For while Shirley has a cinematic romance on her vacation (Tom Conti plays the dreamboat), the affair is more of a metaphor for what Shirley insists on having in her real daily life. Watch for Joanna Lumley in a delicious cameo, pre-Ab Fab. And embrace this Valentine, and share it with those you love, all year round. --A.T. Hurley Stills from Shirley Valentine (click for larger image) Customer Reviews: Rating: 
Date: 2008-07-04
Shirley Valentine
"Hiya Wall."
What happens when you've got no one to talk to; when everyone takes you for granted? You might start talking to inanimate objects, or you might decide to escape for a while . . . say, to Greece, perhaps?
Shirley Valentine takes a fairly mundane plotline - that of a lonely, underappreciated housewife - and weaves it into a story so full of humor and joie de vivre you'll be ready to pack your bags, too.
Originally a one-woman stage production, the screenplay was wonderfully adapted for the large screen. Pauline Collins stars as Shirley Valentine, a role she played in the original stage production as well.
Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw wonders what happened to the feisty young girl she used to be. Now an empty-nester housewife in Liverpool, she's stuck in a steak-on-Thursday rut. A series of closely spaced interactions that are out of her control act as a catalyst that allows Shirley to take back control of her own life.
The part of the film that takes place in Greece is, of course, magnificent. But much more than just the setting is how Shirley is transformed by the experience.
I first saw this film many years ago, and absolutely fell in love with it. A few years ago a local theater company produced the stage play, and I loved it so much I had to see it twice. It was fascinating to see the stage play, and compare that to the way the film was produced. I have even more admiration for the quirky film now, seeing how the writer and director were able to adapt it for the screen without losing the character of the stage production.
My husband finds it ironic that two of my favorite films (the other being American Dreamer) deal with the same theme - bored housewife takes a trip abroad & has life changing experience. Even more ironic is that Tom Conti plays a somewhat similar role in both films.
See this film! It's quirky cinema at its best.
Rating:
Date: 2008-06-23
Shirley Valentine
SHIRLEY VALENTINE is a must-see for couples whose kids are grown and need encouragement to seek out the person you really are. Great film. Rating:
Date: 2008-06-07
Great Movie!
"Shirley Valentine" is to your movie collection what tylenol is to your medicine cabinet. You must own it. It is a "feel good" movie, and I always sigh with contentment and nostalgia after viewing the movie. Pauline Collins, Tom Conti, and Joanna Lumley, all of the actors in this film do a tremendous job. It's a great movie for a woman who can relate to feeling like she has become part of the furniture, completely taken for granted, and as though after turning 40 a woman's life is "over".
What I appreciated most was Shirley's romance with Costas was not the focus of the film. Shirley learns to feel comfortable in her own skin again, and you're left feeling like everything will work out for the best.
What more can you ask for?! Rating:
Date: 2008-05-29
Absolutely Perfect!!
I just love this movie. Pauline Collins is perfect as a woman who is trying to find the inner spirit she somehow lost along the way. The movie is charming, engaging and reaffirms we are not all perfect human beings. I will watch it again and again! Rating:
Date: 2008-05-25
great and realistic film
Great film, and shot in the first person. Shirley Valentine's story reflects the sometimes frustration of housewives who tire of being taken for granted by their husbands and children. However, it also shows how strong and independent Shirley really is and how she finally realizes this and finds herself again. Great film for those ladies who are secretly looking for adventure and want just one more chance and dream about taking it! Funny, quirky and so true at times! |
