hyped garbage

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

As someone thoroughly immersed in am dram and in particular Shakespeare I found this film thoroughly entertaining. I must admit that having loved Burt Reynolds in the good old days when he was in Riverboat on TV, I did a double take when I saw his very odd plastic surgery face, that could hardly register an expression. When I got over that, the usual suspects of English cinema conveyed all the bitchiness and ideas of grandeur of a typical am dram society. I particularly liked the reference to the fact that they all acted for no money or fame and held down daytime jobs. I am afraid that Burt's delivery of Lear left a lot to be desired and as my husband is about to direct King Lear we had to laugh as Imelda Staunton( good as she was) as one of Lear's daughters until I pointed out his actress in the part was about the same age. A problem that occurs in most am drams is that the people in them are too old for the parts. Imelda was very funny and Derek Jacobi sending himself up was a scream too. Not a great film but an amusing, small English film and much better than a lot of other small English films I have seen

A Film that i saw advertised never got to see,but came in the cinemas and went out again straight away.i found it for a fiver in tescos and thought why not, a good casting, reynolds as lear playing with a British tour de force.A wonderful i think piece of British cinema, some great one liners and reynolds doesn't steal the show, he shares it with the pigs and his sterilised hot tub and a wonderful cast who all admitted they were starstruck working with "burt reynolds".even the dog gets some great lines in my opinion watch it, its one of them little gems that i will go on about.with such trash in the last few year being made Indiana jones and the X files ripoff (thank god i didn't buy it or even cinema to view that ) around this film is a tonic to watch.one i can watch again and again i think.thank you "you bunch of amateurs".

Don't let anyone tell you what to enjoy and what not. I've read some reviews that weren't very kind to this film, and decided to have an opinion of my own and watch it. Fallen star Jeff Steel (Reynolds at his best) watches his career and personal relationship with his daughter fade away as the years go by and people forget very easily the old icons. As fate would have it, he ends up in a small village in Britain to lead a bunch of amateurs as King Lear in an event that will raise money for charity. This doesn't seat well with Steel, but, this being a romantic comedy, you know that he will go through a great changing, not only as an actor but also as an individual, coming out a better artist and man. A Bunch of Amateurs is a small, simple movie, but the kind of picture you can tell that it was done with the heart. What a cast Burt had in this one. Sir Derek Jacobi steals the film and runs away at every opportunity, the man is just unbelievable, great!His name belongs to the same page as the names of other Britain's favorites, like Anthony Hopkins or John Gielgud. He gave the movie's outstanding performance and stood out among the others. The picture really belongs to Jacobi. Charles Durning couldn't be left out, this being a Burt film, and adds immensely with his presence as Steel's agent, a small role, sure, but it was wonderful to see him back on screen. Samantha Bond represented the moral balance, the soul of the theater actors and the community, she brought so much to it. Imelda Staunton lent her talent to the landlady, the comic relief who brought the funniest moments to this otherwise really nostalgic film that is a homage to the theater and the lives of people who give it all for this dream. Specially moving was when SPOILERS AHEAD Burt is saying good-bye to the folks after the winning theater performance for charity, and suddenly his daughter appears on the doorsteps, a surprise orchestrated by his British friends, and both reunite and all is finally well, father and daughter at peace. Very moving and brought tears to my eyes SPOILERS END. So,don't be fooled. Just don't expect something mind-bending, but if what you're looking for is some ninety something minutes of an entertaining and sweet story, with some laughs and tears, A Bunch of Amateurs if your movie. It reminded me greatly of another British jewel, Bigger than the Sky, another gem that is a must-see!

A Bunch Of Amateurs is an understated little gem. I do not suppose it will gain a wide release, but it deserves wider circulation than it will achieve.Burt Reynolds is Jefferson Steel, a fading star of big-budget but increasingly awful action movies. When the offers dry up he presses his agent (an ill-looking Charles Durning) to find him work. And when the offer comes to play King Lear on stage at Stratford, Steel is on the first trans-Atlantic flight. However, due to imperfect communication, he is appalled to discover that the production in question is taking place in a converted barn in the little village of Stratford (not -on-Avon) to save the local amateur theatre group from going under. Steel tries to escape but can't, and the initial culture clash between privileged, pampered Hollywood superstar on the one hand, and low key, frugal, rural England on the other, slowly begins to have its effect.Reynolds is fine, if a little unemotional, but the fun in this film comes from the rest of the cast, particularly from Imelda Staunton who is note-perfect playing the besotted landlady of the B&B where Steel stays.The story is slight, but the situation is inherently funny and the script ticks all the right boxes. There is an interesting plot development just past the halfway mark which runs in a slightly unexpected direction before the movie finishes up on course at the end. Thankfully it avoids moving into the romance which is threatened from time to time, although this can be read into what happens after the closing credits if you so wish.If I have one criticism - and it is a very mild one - it is that a village drama society featuring Derek Jacobi and Samantha Bond is hardly A Bunch Of Amateurs!