SHOWCASE MOVIE - COMEDY - PURELY BELTER: Sunday, 3rd October, 8.30pm
Gerry (Chris Beattie) and Sewell (Greg McLane) are inseparable friends each of whom have awful home lives - complete with alcoholic, abusive or senile parents - that they try to avoid, so they spend as much time together as they can. Instead of going to school the boys prefer to drift through the streets of Newcastle-on-Tyne, following every news report and game of their favourite football team, Newcastle United. Every chance they get, the boys try to get in to see their team play, but the ultimate would be season tickets which are priced at an impossible œ1000 each. They day-dream, scheme and plot ways to make their dream a reality in between dealing with their own harsh realities, Sewell must look after his senile father and Gerry's violent, alcoholic dad returns regularly to steal money and beat up his mum, forcing the family to escape by moving house frequently. Written and directed by Mark Herman (Little Voice, Brassed Off) and based on a novel by Jonathan Tulloch, this film is a touching and funny slice-of-life in Northern Britain, complete with the unmistakable Geordie accent and slang like the title, which translates roughly as "awesome" or "terrific". (From the UK) (2000) M (S,L,A) CC