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Bill

Play trailer Poster for Bill 2015 1h 34m Adventure Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 59% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Hopeless lute player Bill Shakespeare leaves his home to follow his dream, explaining the "lost years" of Shakespeare.
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Bill

Critics Reviews

View All (20) Critics Reviews
Mark Kermode Observer (UK) Nicely balancing its historically literate gags with broad knockabout slapstick, Bill is a crowd-pleasing treat that should tickle audiences young and old alike. Rated: 4/5 Sep 20, 2015 Full Review Kevin Maher Times (UK) Don't let the two-star rating throw you completely, for there are some nice gags in Bill. Rated: 2/5 Sep 18, 2015 Full Review Geoffrey Macnab Independent (UK) Richard Bracewell's Elizabethan-era comedy, starring the cast of Horrible Histories and Yonderland, is brisk, cheery fare that yields as many laughs as it does groans. Rated: 3/5 Sep 18, 2015 Full Review Charlotte Harrison Charlotte Sometimes Goes to the Movies Bill explores what may have happened during William Shakespeare's lost years upon arriving in London to hilarious effect. May 10, 2021 Full Review Tori Brazier One Room With A View This quintessentially British film has mixed together the best bits from inspirations like Blackadder and Monty Python with a cheeky, imaginative approach to history and added song-and-dance. Rated: 4/5 May 4, 2019 Full Review Matthew Bond The Mail on Sunday (UK) There are laughs but not quite enough. Rated: 2/5 Oct 26, 2017 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (41) audience reviews
David N Enjoyable family fun with the cast of Horrible Histories/Ghosts. The humour is along the same lines with some Monty Python undertones. A few laugh out loud parts but mainly smiles and chuckles along the way. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/24 Full Review Audience Member Improves as it moves along. Ends up "feeling good." Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member --ABSOLUTE AND UTTER BILGE--PROBABLY THE LEAST HUMOUROUS COMEDY(??) IN THE HISTORY OF CINEMA-- Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Not the best movie but the six idiots made me laugh all the same Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Ethan T Bill departs from Horrible Histories in several ways, despite the persistence of the comedic tone and the same core cast that lit up several seasons of the show. The most clear difference is that while Horrible Histories moved from period to period and sketch to sketch, this persists with the same setting for almost 90 minutes. The material, then, needs to be better for feature length as the luxuries of being able to quickly and easily move on from a dud must disappear. Unfortunately, Bill never inspires the raucous laughs of the best HH sketches. Its reliance on drama constantly falls flat, and while there are decent instances of slapstick, wordplay, and clever gags, one feels that the film could certainly have implanted more. Baynton as Shakespeare is a woeful main character devoid of humour and set on a predictable journey that never ranks among the story's strengths. The subplot involving the assassination attempt on Elizabeth I (played by the recently departed Helen McCrory) is more interesting. All in all, the funny parts are too sparse and mostly unoriginal to galvanise much excitement, and the random moments of drama not effective in creating a well-rounded experience. I would recommend sticking to the show, or leaving this to the kids if the show also has not aged well in my estimation. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/28/21 Full Review Audience Member Funny. Sort of picks up where Monty Python left off. More polished humor. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Hopeless lute player Bill Shakespeare leaves his home to follow his dream, explaining the "lost years" of Shakespeare.
Director
Richard Bracewell
Producer
Richard Bracewell, Tony Bracewell, Alasdair Flind, Charles Steel
Screenwriter
Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond
Production Co
BBC Films
Genre
Adventure, Comedy
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 18, 2016
Runtime
1h 34m
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