"Actor: Penelope Nice"

• She'll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £12.15   |  Saving you £-6.16 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  She'll be Wearing Pink Pyjamas (1984) epitomises the early work of the FilmFour brand: solid productions, usually awash with issues, a strong dose of prickly humour and a reliable ensemble of British character actors. This tale of female bonding concerns a miscellaneous group of women thrown together on an Outward Bound course. They've all come for their own reasons--men (the lack of, or to escape from), midlife crisis, feelings of now-or-never--and as the course escalates, these are discovered and shared. Even the rather tiresome and bossy course leader has a moment of revelation. Think Steel Magnolias in a tent. Will they make it? The bonding scenes are sufficiently well counterpointed by the wet and muddy action to keep you guessing. There are plenty of laughs to keep the clichés at bay, although John Goldschmidt's direction could have been tighter. The performances, led by Julie Walters at her most attention-seeking, are good and often touching. All in all this is a brittle but warm-hearted little comedy about optimism and survival. On the DVD: She'll be Wearing Pink Pyjamas is presented in 4:3 picture format with a dull mono soundtrack, which betrays its made-for-television origins. There are no subtitles and, apart from a scene index, no extras. --Piers Ford