Purely Joyful Movie!

Overrated and overhyped

Just so...so bad

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I watched this at home on DVD from our public library. My wife watched 15 minutes and left, not her type of entertainment."Last Tango in Halifax" is apparently a British TV series that ran for several years. It features a man and woman in their 70s who, after each of their spouses died, reunited after 60 or so years.What I found was the "holiday special" and later realized it is season 4, episodes 1 and 2, about 55 minutes each, the only episodes of season 4.I have always been fond of stories featuring a cross section of average British characters, as this one does. While much of the story focuses on relationship problems some of the adult children are having, the most charming story is about the local theater production and the 70-somethings scrambling to find the right characters and putting on the show.Overall nothing very memorable, and it surely would help to already be familiar with the whole series, but I enjoyed it as a way to pass time until bedtime.

I like this show so far. (I'm at Season 3 Episode 3.) Good characters, some interesting plot lines. Occasionally the people seem almost too stupid to be believable - sharing secrets, impulsive sex. John is such a loser it's humorous. Celia can be such a bitch, even if she is an old lady. Gillian, I think, is homely so it's hard to understand why she seems so attractive to various men - as well as having an unattractive personality.If you want a show that is more about relationships and people living their lives, this is a good one.

I'm not usually a fan of lighthearted English village family dramas, but this one strives for something more. Writer Sally Wainwright and actor Sarah Lancashire, who teamed so well in the gritty detective series Happy Valley, this time go for something a lot lighter, but still with high standards. One of the best things about Last Tango in Halifax is that its elderly characters are not only the male and female leads, but they're allowed to have complex feelings, backgrounds and scenes. They're not just someone's Mum, or the village publican or neighbour, like you see in most drama series. One of their daughters, Caroline, is a lesbian whose partner is pregnant to the daughter's former husband. The other daughter, Caroline's stepsister Gillian, also has children, and a complicated love life. Wainwright portrays her characters as essentially good, but clashing constantly over each other's baggage and desires. Sometimes the jokiness of Last Tango gets a bit twee and obvious, but its heart is in the right place, and it's a good value series to sit and enjoy.

Season 1 of this show gets 10 stars from me. Season 2, barely a 3 star rating.Did the writers change from one season to the next?Season 1 was littered with brilliant complexity and smart and witty dialog. Season 2 tries to cram in so many "circles" of politically correct memes into what used to be brilliant and smart plot "squares."Sometimes shows throw the kitchen sink at the wall when a show is being canceled. Is this the case? Season 1 was sunshine, while Season 2 became ugly and dark, and very repetitive.This happened to Derek. The first Season was brilliant, and then it was trashed by every agenda-driven (and immature) writer that could be found (even if it was the same).Why screw up a good thing?