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Funny Cow

Play trailer Poster for Funny Cow 2017 1h 42m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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79% Tomatometer 42 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A female comic bounces around before rising to the top in the 1970s and 1980s.
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Funny Cow

Funny Cow

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Critics Consensus

Funny Cow rests almost entirely on Maxine Peake's performance -- which proves more than capable of shouldering the weight of this affecting period drama.

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Critics Reviews

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David Stratton The Australian 07/27/2018
3.5/5
Peake is excellent as this tough yet at times amazingly tender woman, and the film tells her story without pulling any punches. Go to Full Review
Jake Wilson The Age (Australia) 07/20/2018
1.5/5
Funny Cow is unusual enough to hold attention, but nonetheless a misfire: incoherent, arty in the wrong ways and often bizarrely misjudged. Go to Full Review
Charlotte O'Sullivan London Evening Standard 04/25/2018
4/5
This film is interested in the point where hate and humour meet. Its protagonist is a real cow. I loved her to bits. Go to Full Review
Milana Vujkov Lola On Film 07/29/2021
3/5
Depicting humour not as a relief, but at the centre of the disease, a punctured ulcer reeking of that which it could not any longer contain. Go to Full Review
Jason Best Marie Claire 09/25/2020
Peake's defiant heroine has enough brass to keep a doorknob factory going for months. Go to Full Review
Matt Cipolla Film Monthly 07/25/2020
3.5/5
[Shergold and Pitts] have a stranglehold on raw emotion, and the two create something where hope and despair are one and the same. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Tony S 08/21/2024 outstanding performances all-round. it took a special person to portray this character making their way in such a tough working mens club scene. i remember well the great marti caine on new faces 1975. she was a star, albeit short lived. See more isla s 09/03/2022 This is proper 'grim up north' stuff, this. Its categorised as a comedy film but while there are some amusing moments, I certainly wouldn't primarily categorise it as a comedy film - its far more a drama that features some comedy within it, than it is a comedy with drama present. It's fairly bleak, content wise, in terms of depicting a persons life with domestic violence and bullying heavily present and also highlighting sexism and so on, so if your looking for a pick me up, this isn't what you want. The film features numerous famous comics depicting acts from working mens clubs and other characters, such as Kevin Eldon, John Bishop and Jim Moir (aka Vic Reeves). Maxine Peake gives a good performance as the main character (she doesn't seem to be named other than as 'funny cow'), someone who does well to stand up for herself. There's a fair amount of quite blue comedy present, i.e. sexually explicit jokes and one or two racist comments, reflecting the culture of northern working mens clubs at the time. Also present, cast wise, is Stephen Graham, who is well known for his portrayal of aggressive men and this is no exception. This is a grim but well made film - I suppose its quite insightful too. Not an especially hilarious watch but a good film, I'd recommend it, as long as you know what it is and don't expect constant laughs, yes. See more 12/31/2021 Sensational acting. Strange. I would have liked to see more of the comedic stand up behind the main character. See more steve w 10/08/2020 Anchored by a fabulous performance by Maxine Peake, this is a very rewarding watch. The struggle of women in abusive relatonships has been done before but is handled here in a way which captures the bleak rawness without sensationalising things. Peake's strength in the face of this is admirable but she also show the emotional cost in a woman who can't accept true love. Throw in an alcoholic mother, a suicidal ex-comic and the toxic nature of the humour of the time and you have a kitchen sink drama with knobs on. See more 05/15/2020 Not a comedy by any stretch if the imagination but a well told story of a comedian's rise to stardom in the 70's, in spite of having had a difficult and hard life. Maxine Peak gives a stellar performance against the backdrop of gritty northern England. See more 01/01/2020 Exceeded my expectations entirely, touxhing deep emotional and uplifting movie, brilliantly acted and lived the one liners in the top notch screen Play wow, 5 stars See more Read all reviews
Funny Cow

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Movie Info

Synopsis A female comic bounces around before rising to the top in the 1970s and 1980s.
Director
Adrian Shergold
Producer
Kevin Proctor, Mark Vennis
Screenwriter
Tony Pitts
Production Co
Vexed Pixie, Moviehouse Entertainment, Lipsync Productions, Gizmo Films, Head Gear Films, POW Films
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 11, 2019
Runtime
1h 42m
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