Dancin’ Thru the Dark ***½ (1990, Claire Hackett, Ben Murphy, Con O’Neill, Peter Beckett ) – Classic Movie Review 9822

Director Mike Ockrent’s good-natured, warm-hearted 1990 British comedy Dancin’ Thru the Dark stars Claire Hackett as Linda, who is out on a wild hen-night with her hen friends while her fiancé Dave (Conrad Nelson) is out getting tanked up with his stags on his stag-night.

Sparks fly when they head for the same nightclub where her former rock star lover Peter (Con O’Neil) is playing as the band front man. Linda is having a re-think about getting married, and Peter is the love of her life.

Willy Russell’s script (from his play Stags and Hens) is a superior social comedy, with funny scenes, gritty moments and energetic performances making up for a familiar story and some corny jokes.

And Russell casts an acute and sympathetic eye over a decaying Liverpool. Willy Russell also writes the score and appears as Sourface.

Also in the cast are Con O’Neill as Peter, Angela Clarke as Maureen, Mark Womack as Eddie, Julia Deakin, Simon O’Brien, Louise Duprey, Andrew Naylor, Sandy Hendrickse, Peter Watts, Conrad Nelson, Colin Welland as Branskys Manager, Stephen Graham (in his first feature) as Football Kid, and Paul Netterfield.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9822

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