Two actors, as their make up is applied, talk about the size of their parts. Then into the film: Laurence Sterne's unfilmable novel, Tristram Shandy, a fictive autobiography wherein the narrator, interrupted constantly, takes the entire story to be born. The film tracks between "Shandy" and behind the scenes. Size matters: parts, egos, shoes, noses. The lead's girlfriend, with their infant son, is up from London for the night, wanting sex; interruptions are constant. Scenes a... (Full plot summary below)
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Two actors, as their make up is applied, talk about the size of their parts. Then into the film: Laurence Sterne's unfilmable novel, Tristram Shandy, a fictive autobiography wherein the narrator, interrupted constantly, takes the entire story to be born. The film tracks between "Shandy" and behind the scenes. Size matters: parts, egos, shoes, noses. The lead's girlfriend, with their infant son, is up from London for the night, wanting sex; interruptions are constant. Scenes are shot, re-shot, and discarded. The purpose of the project is elusive. Fathers and sons; men and women; cocks and bulls. Life is amorphous, too full and too rich to be captured in one narrative.
Leave your thoughts about A Cock and Bull Story.
| New York ObserverAndrew SarrisWith a subject seemingly so amenable to heartless derision, the film is remarkable for its warmth and generosity and conviviality. |
| Village VoiceJ. HobermanMade literal, many of Sterne's japes cease to be funny, but the viewer is carried along by the backstage plot. |
| St. Paul Pioneer PressChris HewittThe playful British Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story is a comedy for anyone fascinated by the movies. |
| Newark Star-LedgerStephen WhittyGiven the strength of the talent and material here, it's still a workable compromise for fans -- and a confusion Tristram himself would understand. |
| BBC.comAdrian Hennigan... one of the funniest British movies in years. |
| New York Daily NewsJack MathewsMore fun than a company picnic - and a lot more fun than the classic 18th century novel that inspired it - Michael Winterbottom's Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story is the first good comedy of 2006. |
| St. Paul Pioneer PressChris Hewitt (St. Paul)The playful British Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story is a comedy for anyone fascinated by the movies. |
| New Zealand HeraldPeter CalderIf you ever enjoyed an English comedy show on the telly and you're ready for a laugh, you're going to love this. Don't worry if you haven't the faintest idea what it's about. No one else does either. |
| Washington PostStephen HunterIt's pretty funny. You don't actually watch it so much as indulge it and admire its cleverness. |
| Dallas Morning NewsJerome WeeksTristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story is an eccentric hoot of a film, a delight for lovers of nattering British comedy. Or the business of moviemaking. Or just deadpan, postmodern silliness. |
