The Fundy Film Society

Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story

Barely stopping to breathe between productions, outrageously prolific director Michael Winterbottom follows his graphically intimate 9 Songs with the raucously entertaining Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story. This time around, Winterbottom is out to film the unfilmable novel: an adaptation of Laurence Sterne’s sprawling 18th Century masterpiece of digression, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. What begins as a seemingly straightforward attempt to recreate the frenetic novel—starring Steve Coogan as the title figure and Rob Brydon as his Uncle Toby—quickly derails into a behind-the-scenes document of the film’s actual production. Working triple time (for he also plays Tristram’s father), Coogan is hilarious as the insecure “Steve Coogan,” a shallow actor who is more interested in his cute assistant (Naomie Harris) than the mother of his newborn child (the always delightful Kelly Macdonald). Meanwhile, “Rob Brydon” is trying desperately to convince “Steve Coogan” that his role is a co-lead, not merely a supporting one. As the production threatens to spin out of control, the filmmakers hire Gillian Anderson (playing herself, of course) to fill a much-needed role. Coming off like a madcap collision of Barry Lyndon and 24 Hour Party People, Winterbottom’s film is a hilarious and surprisingly tender ode to fatherhood and moviemaking in general.