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Life Is Sweet

Life Is Sweet

1990
Comedy, Drama
1h 43m
Just north of London live Wendy, Andy, and their twenty-something twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy clerks in a shop, leads aerobics at a primary school, jokes like a vaudevillian, agrees to waitress at a friend's new restaurant and dotes on Andy, a cook who forever puts off home remodeling projects, and with a drunken friend, buys a broken down lunch wagon... (imdb)
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Life Is Sweet

1990
Comedy, Drama
1h 43m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 64.96% from 528 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(528)
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Rated 18 Sep 2014
20
8th
I can't decide what I disliked more about this horrendously poor movie. The constant insane laughing from the mother, Nicola's annoying stupid accent, the idiotic dialog and delivery, asinine friend, or the inability to understand them. I really tried to enjoy this, and failed. Not one character felt authentic or real. Few situations were satisfying. Buried in this mess is a couple of good minutes, that I wish I could have enjoyed. It is almost entirely annoying, stupid and pointless.
Rated 18 May 2010
85
85th
Absurd-like social realistic dramas, without extending themselves too far beyond their reach, don't really get better than this. What makes it that notch better than most? The humorous overplayed characters, all drawn with big fat lines, surrealistically, yet more real then anything. It's hard to explain, but in spite of all the absurd lines and acts of this film, the drama manages to intensify exponentially when the frailty of the family starts to show some definite consequences lurking.
Rated 04 Apr 2010
73
85th
Mike Leigh makes me cry and re-evaluate life again. *shakes fist*
Rated 28 Jan 2011
90
96th
Oh Blimey - female eunuchs, women who love, love for women and one of Mike Leighs finest. There is no real big drama, just Leighs attentive writing and his endeavouring care for the characters he portraits - and that's really all you need. Funnier than rest of his oeuvres, but just as engrossing.
Rated 04 Jan 2017
83
72nd
These are some of Leigh's most annoying characters, and that makes certain sections really grating, but it's funny enough to make up for it and they're still close enough to being real people that the pathos works too.
Rated 13 May 2013
87
81st
How do I end up seeing every one Leigh's movies at the perfect time in my life? Every single time.
Rated 29 Apr 2015
20
7th
Unfortunately, Leigh (at least after this and "Naked") is not my taste. To me, this is a film of grotesque lower-class characters, all of whom I dislike, dreaming big and doing little. This all features the grossest sex scene I have seen, and I have seen "Salo" and "A Serbian Film".
Rated 31 Jul 2012
82
56th
A lesser Leigh, which is of course to say still very good, but lacking the standout characters and dialogue of his best movies. Regardless, there are strong performances here, quite a few laughs, and the subject of bulimia is dealt with well
Rated 28 Oct 2014
0
4th
Must've missed something. The tv guide said "a sentimental and honest portrayal of family life", I saw shrieking, grotesque caricatures of working class people in a poor sit-com.
Rated 11 Jan 2017
95
96th
had to bump this up because it made me cry and like thats not normal for me and makes it an all time fav
Rated 08 Oct 2013
80
81st
The conversation between the mother and daughter in this film (you know which one) has to be one of the most powerful ones in cinema - it's like life in pill form... which the daughter had to swallow...with no water. Also, I wonder what happend to Aubrey.
Rated 24 Dec 2013
82
58th
this is probably my favourite mike leigh film yet, because Leigh got out of his own way and actually revealed a bit about his characters, and the resulting emotion was wonderful.
Rated 15 Oct 2007
58
48th
Quite nice and fairly amusing but gets tedious at times. Jane Horrocks' character, Nicola, is particularly good.
Rated 05 Sep 2013
63
38th
Yeah, Leigh finds something heartbreaking in these cartoony characters, but they're still too flat and simple to be really interesting. I guess it's not that different from something like Abigail's Party but maybe the "filmed play" aesthetic there actually works in its favor. Really just wanted a whole movie around the sisters, and not just because the Dworkin-quoting bulimic food fetishist looks like an ex.
Rated 11 Jun 2017
93
88th
Scored by Rachel Portman, it feels like a low-key situation comedy, with outsized characters living regular-sized lives. Spall's character is played mostly for laughs, but feels absolutely terrifying in today's environment. Food -- it's preparation and consumption (and purging) -- provides an interesting lens into almost every character here.
Rated 25 Jun 2011
85
97th
As per usual, Leigh weaves a delicate web of impressions around his cast. Each get enough screen time, which results in a movie that is dynamic and full of sympathy for the individual. At the core of dutiful and busy lives, twins receive extra attention from Leigh.
Rated 02 Sep 2015
90
70th
I found a lot in this film that was relatable, and the characters were all so different that they were excellent examples of people who live under the same roof, yet haven't come to understanding the others. Despite their dysfunctions, they try to make the best of their situations.
Rated 04 Aug 2012
77
55th
Quite the slice-of-life film -- there may be hardly any conclusions, but the joy is in getting invested with these characters that feel as familiar and warm as close relatives.
Rated 03 Feb 2013
85
80th
I could find Mike Leigh films like this one quite annoying if it weren't for the fact that every single character in this rings true to me: I'm certain I've known people like them. These characters may be hyperbolic and caricatured, yet I recognise something very real in all of them. Life is Sweet ranks among Leigh's lighter and more comedic films (and is very enjoyable), but still has time to deal compassionately with the issue of bulimia. Nicola now ranks among my favourite characters ever.
Rated 05 Oct 2013
87
91st
86.500
Rated 17 Apr 2007
60
62nd
Not bad.
Rated 04 Jun 2014
82
75th
I just came to know Mike Leigh recently and I'm glad to be so late in this task. The realism with which he builds his films can somehow bring us frighteningly close to these characters. In less than two hours they become almost a second family. God knows how I hated Nicola at first but ended up learning to love her. Wendy's way to deal with life, her sense of humor, her laugh, how I love it. I need more of this.
Rated 04 Nov 2014
6
44th
Great characters - believable everyday people but not particularly deep or thought provoking.
Rated 31 Dec 2013
40
11th
Mike Leigh? How come? Such annoying characters? Those laughs? God!
Rated 21 Jan 2012
71
89th
"bollocks!" love you Nicola..
Rated 23 Mar 2011
75
74th
Strange and good slice-of-life, but a little uneven. Some characters work better than others; Spall's is a little much and takes up too much screen-time, whereas Horrock's Nicola is just perfect. Very well-acted (Broadbent and Steadman are great, and Thewlis in a small part is excellent of course), well worth seeing, but I was hoping it would be even better.
Rated 27 Aug 2013
85
59th
Alison Steadman is incredible. The scene where she finally breaks down her feelings towards her daughter is undoubtedly the best in the movie. I love the way there is no real resolution in this, all of these plot threads left to hang in the balance. Makes it feel much more real.
Rated 23 Jun 2013
89
94th
Leigh's most secret and potent weapon is the ability to build a feeling of familiarity and sympathy with his characters, and this is a beautiful example of feeling like you're leaving a group of friends when the film is over. Mostly lacking in conventional drama or narrative (the lives these people live are mostly mundane) but there are scenes that bowled me over emotionally with their sincerity and the strength of the performances. A quiet but lovely piece of work.
Rated 21 Jan 2017
7
22nd
I never felt hugely connected to these characters. I felt most interested in Nicola- she had contradictions, inner conflict and seemed to be hiding great desire. I understand Leigh's films never aim for sweeping plot, but his best works do have some small arc or resolution. Things do change a little bit by the end, but I wanted more. Or maybe these characters didn't interest me enough. It seemed to be a series of disconnected events with no larger impact or purpose.
Rated 20 Apr 2019
77
85th
I just love her annoying laugh, like: "*haha* good thing that you are not a horse or they'd of shot ya *haha*"
Rated 08 Aug 2019
70
76th
good movie
Rated 01 Feb 2020
60
35th
Slice-of-life story set just outside north London, showing the confusing relationships of a (presumably) middle-class family with a lot of issues. Most characters have their highs and lows and move on, much like life itself. I'm not generally a fan of slice-of-life stories, which might account for my general rating of "meh."
Rated 01 Jul 2020
78
66th
It is difficult not to echo the sentiment "too much Timothy Spall," but it is certainly the glaring problem with Leigh's otherwise delightful film. Five minutes of the character rather than the twenty or more would have given a lot more time the other players that are far more down to earth. Still, there is rich drama mixed in with lighthearted comedy.
Rated 25 Sep 2020
80
68th
The real joy of this film is how vividly Leigh and his cast create his characters and let them wander through the small things that happen in life, big and small. Leigh manages to communicate very large truths about life through the accumulation of detail.
Rated 16 Nov 2020
94
93rd
A Vida é Doce estreava há 30 anos no London Film Festival. Sou uma admiradora tardia do Leigh, só entrei na vibe dele depois dos 30 anos, mas quando a paixão realmente surgiu foi avassaladora, como com esse filme que é coisa de gênio e que nenhuma sinopse vai dar a devida dimensão de sua potencia. BlurayRip no MakingOff.
Rated 20 Feb 2021
81
85th
Whenever watched, Mike Leigh warms souls
Rated 22 Sep 2022
93
87th
"Look at the state of ya"
Rated 06 Dec 2022
40
19th
I guess I see the appeal, but once again Leigh is not for me. I find these characters unlikable and annoying as they trip through life.
Rated 28 Sep 2023
40
7th
Children's television. Overacting all over the place. Nothing of the Leigh-Quality I expected. Couldnt go further after three quarters.

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