Soft Top Hard Shoulder (1993)

Could it be?  Another opportunity to use my “starring role” tag – the third in over four months?  And a brand-spanking-new tag:  “writer.”  Yep, in the ‘90s it seems PC got tired of playing supporting or minor parts, so he wrote himself a lovely lead character in a rollicking little film.

 

Gavin Bellini is an Italian-Scot trying to make it in London as a writer-illustrator (PC has evidently been known to give fans original sketches with their autographs – do I hear the words “semi-autobiographical?)  The strapped-for-cash Gavin is informed that he has a tidy inheritance waiting for him, provided he makes it home to Glasgow in time for his father’s 60^th birthday.  What with his rattly old convertible (dubbed Crazy Horse,) a cute but irksome hitchhiker, and a nigh-escapable cash crisis, a slog of a drive becomes a race-against-time road-trip adventure.

 

It’s a dynamite screenplay, populated with amusingly offbeat characters and packed with quirky, smart dialogue.  PC has a strong sense of the absurd – a scene of Gavin pitching his macabre children’s story to a publisher is a scream, and a near-miss on the road finds Gavin and his fellow traveler imagining their bodies spread across the road “like peanut butter – the crunchy kind.”  Definitely my sort of film.

 

As for Gavin himself, our leading man is passionate, socially awkward, and kooky.  Right in PC’s wheelhouse, naturally.  Whether he’s arguing with his hitchhiker chum, meeting a dubious oddball on the road, or dancing his curly-haired brains out in a dilapidated B&B, Gavin is winningly likable in a relatable, underdog way.  PC is fantastic.

 

Co-starring in Soft Top Hard Shoulder is Elaine Collins, who is apparently PC’s wife.  Additionally, we have a bevy of people who’ve worked with PC before:  Clive Russell (Neverwhere, Do Not Disturb, and The Devil’s Whore,) Phyllis Logan (Shooting Fish,) Frances Barber (The Nativity, Do Not Disturb,) and Simon Callow (Unhitched.)  There’s also a small appearance by the wonderful Jeremy Northam, best known to me for his splendid Mr. Knightley in the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma.

 

Accent Watch

 

Scottish, of course.

 

Recommend?

 

In General – Absolutely.  Funny, entertaining, and weird – what more could you want?

 

PC-wise – Yes, yes, yes!  PC attacks the role with gusto, and the film shows off his screenwriting talents impressively.

 

Warnings

 

Not much – a scene of strong language and a fair amount of smoking, plus Gavin’s description of his children’s book gets a little brothers Grimm.