Great Film overall

Better Late Then Never

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

IMDb rating system is beyond baffling - how can an arithmetic mean of 8.6 and a median of 9 possibly equate to a weighted average of 4.2?!This was a fantastic series. If any aspiring comedy writers take the trouble to watch this, they will see that Peter Tilbury's technique defies every single piece of received wisdom on sitcom writing. The plots are wafer thin, Philip Roath seldom finds himself up a tree that he has to get down from, there is precious little conflict to be resolved and it is all tell and no show: most of the laughs come from the characters we never see: Gerald, the analyst's boyfriend, the boss's Mohican son-in-law, and Napley's delinquent sprog.Tilbury's central performance is workmanlike; the comparison with Hywel Bennet who took the part he had written for himself in Shelley, is interesting. ITAWM demonstrates the advantages of having the writer deliver his own lines; Tilbury knows exactly what he is trying to achieve. But Shelley shows how a great actor can lift a script with a performance that exceeds the writer's vision.The supporting performances, particularly from Benjamin and the wonderful Le Prevost, are excellent.

The good news is that Network DVD are planning to issue all 3 series of "It Takes A Worried Man" on DVD, with Series 1 already available. The even better news is that - having just watched Series 1 again for the first time since it was broadcast - it's still as witty and as literate as I remember it being. Peter Tilbury never dumbs down his writing, paying his audience the compliment of assuming that they're intelligent and cultured enough to enjoy even the cleverest of his characters' witticisms, much as he did when he wrote the marvellous early episodes of "Shelley".I just wish someone could explain to me why a comedy show as brilliant as "It Takes A Worried Man" currently only has an IMDb rating of 3.8/10. An injustice that inexplicable ought to be enough to make worried men and women of us all!

This series was incredibly literate and funny. It's a tragedy that it hasn't been seen since. With so many tired repeats aired, surely it can't be difficult to get the necessary clearances for this to be seen again.Peter Tilbury is impressive as the intelligent worker who'd rather not (work that is ) and whose intelligence prevents him from taking his desk bound duties seriously, Christopher Benjamin compelling as the boss who's unable to do more than harbour the suspicion that his employee does as little work as possible. A gem of eighties comedy based on disengagement from society.

I remember this series very fondly. Great performances all round, not just Peter Tibury but also Christopher Benjamin and Nicholas Le Prevost. I was probably much too young for this show when it first aired - I was a teenager and it was all about a mid-life crisis if I remember correctly, but somehow it struck a chord. Fans of this show probably also enjoyed Agony, Shelley and Reginald Perrin. (Well I did anyway.) I would love to see this show again - I wonder how well it has held up after all these years. I think the closest thing to this type of comedy more recently was Paul Whitehouse's Happiness which I also loved. His new series HELP has just started and that looks very promising.