recommended

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

I tried out The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard on a whim, based on Jane Horrocks starring in it. I quickly recognized much of the cast and knew I would be on interesting ground, based on the Kudos production logo. It is that: interesting. I expected something a bit more comedic, with Horrocks, but there is little "pure" comedy here. The idea of an ordinary citizen propelled to Parliament, based on a populist campaign, is not a new idea, nor is the female focus. The family angle made it a bit more unique. It's a satire, with a rather simplistic view of the mechanisms of government, though we get snippets of scenes that reinforce that creating change isn't that easy. However, we never really get a sense of the forces that would be arrayed to oppose the kinds of changes that Ros Pritchard talks about. The Tory opposition is made out to be completely impotent, which even the Blair years would suggest was far from the truth, let alone more recent elections. We also never get a sense of business interests that might oppose many of the reforms that Pritchard wants to implement, though things are kept very much centered around general community topics and with a rather centrist view, especially compared to previous political satire/drama, like House of Cards (the original) or A Very British Coup. Those two played more with hard politics, with very definite points of view in each of their main characters. It also doesn't get into opposition from the rather conservative civil service, as in the brilliant Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister comedy series. On the end, I think it is this rather tame political stance that holds the series back and part of why it didn't generate a second series. I wondered a bit as to where on the political spectrum I might cast Ros Pritchard and pretty much concluded that dead center was about as close as I could come to an answer, even moreso than Jim Hacker ever was.The cast is all first rate and the writing is generally good, with interesting characters, though Ros Pritchard seems a little too perfect. She carries the moral high ground until forced to compromise in the last episode. This is the closest she comes to being tainted by the power she wields, another aspect I felt was less than realistic. On the other hand, her husband seems so weak that you wonder how their marriage has lasted this long. Daughter Emily seems to go from relatively level-headed to impetuous rather quickly. Also, the new MP character seems to be introduced, then ignored until a scandal is needed to set back Ros' government. This character was begging for more development than she was given.You get the feeling that many of the weaknesses of the series were elements that might have been addressed in a second series, which gives the whole thing an incomplete vibe, despite the epilogue card that inserted after a second series was nixed. Still, there are plenty of interesting ideas and characters to keep you interested for the 6 episodes, though it will probably never be rated a classic.

Sally Wainwright could have really made this series a lot better by giving her Prime Minister a particular cause, for example standing and being counted for the most vulnerable people in this country, ie the old, disabled, sick, and unemployed.So for me, a person who has stood as an Independent for Parliament before, and on behalf of the vulnerable, this series was a rather lost cause.For over 30 years, todays being August 21st 2012, Britain has had right wing Government's since the 80's and the nauseating Thatcher, where the poor have been hit again and again, with nobody speaking up for them, and this was what was lacking in Sally Wainwright's drama series.I give the series 5 because it was an interesting but shallow political ride.Perhaps Sally Wainwright should write up about how badly the elderly people of Britain are treated.There are 12 million pensioners in this country who would be pleased to receive media attention, at last.

From the promos I thought this series was a comedy satire but although it has comedic moments, especially at the beginning of the series, this is really a fantasy drama set in a 'what if' scenario of modern British politics.Some of the plot is far fetched but the author skillfully draws most of the unrealistic stretches back in so that it never goes too far, although it gets dangerously close at times. A hot headed Yorkshire housewife invents a political party comprised mostly of women with only weeks to a general election, wins, fails to control her own mouth and temper, suggests parliament move to Bradford and introduces a green day each week without proper planning or warning? Not believable. However, the writing is so good that you begin to think maybe it could happen.Suspend disbelief a bit and you get sucked into thinking how a little action and honesty from politicians might actually solve some of today's problems! The actresses in the lead roles are all magnificent and flawed, likable and ruthless, vulnerable and hard. There is Brilliant character development with a few areas for growth that will hopefully be explored in a follow-up series.I am giving it an 8 only because I would like to see a little more character development of the male characters which are not as well written as the female characters and for some of the plots being just a titch OTT. Some of the best parts of this series deal with the mundane aspects of politics rather than the extreme changes in policy. Overall, its a great series that is also very educational. I never really knew what the Chancellor of the Exchequor did until now!

Inspiring work- it's lovely to watch a show which is willing to challenge the stuffy notions of a bigoted political world and offer an alternative which is frankly illuminating. A female cabinet- why is this really so shocking after all?? Actually the image of the House of Commons consisting of 50% women kicks in the reality of how sadly 'normal' it is for the House to be mostly run by men- to those women already working hard in politics this show offers a world of the future- 'The Amazing Mrs Pritchard" shows what politics could be like- hats off to Horrocks and co- let's get rid of the cynical mentality that plagues British politics!!