| Alison Steadman | ... | Betty | |
| Sylvestra Le Touzel | ... | Joy | |
| David Thewlis | ... | Clive | |
| Wendy Nottingham | ... | Charlene |
Directed by | |||
| Mike Leigh | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Mike Leigh | written by | |
Produced by | |||
| Simon Channing Williams | .... | co-producer | |
| Victor Glynn | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Rachel Portman | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Roger Pratt | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Jon Gregory | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Diana Charnley | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Lindy Hemming | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Sandra Shepherd | .... | makeup artist | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Mark Sherwood | .... | first assistant director | |
Art Department | |||
| Andrew Rothschild | .... | assistant designer | |
Sound Department | |||
| Sue Baker | .... | dubbing editor | |
| Don Banks | .... | boom operator | |
| Malcolm Hirst | .... | sound recordist | |
| Trevor Pyke | .... | dubbing mixer | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Barry Cameron | .... | best boy | |
| John Cantwell | .... | gaffer (as Johnny Cantwell) | |
| Simon Fulford | .... | focus puller | |
| Leah Gordon | .... | still photographer | |
| Graham Martyr | .... | clapper loader | |
| Barry Reid | .... | electrician | |
| Les Spring | .... | grip | |
| Robert Wilcox | .... | electrician (as Bob Wilcox) | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Anthony Black | .... | costume assistant | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Ray Gibbs | .... | driver | |
| Colin Gray | .... | driver | |
Other crew | |||
| Anna Bateman | .... | runner | |
| Mary Fulton | .... | publicist | |
| Philip Morris | .... | production office assistant | |
| Katy Radford | .... | production coordinator | |
| Heather Storr | .... | script coordinator | |
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| I Want You | Becoming Jane | Der 90. Geburtstag oder Dinner for One | Vera Drake | The Razorhead |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | IMDb Short section |
| IMDb UK section | Add this title to MyMovies |
Not a lot "happens" in The Short & Curlies, but Mike Leigh doesn't need a whole lot of dramatic things to "happen", he just needs characters that will get some attention for 18 minutes. He gets that, and this is what makes it enjoyable and even tender and deep for a little bit. It's simply about a young woman, Joy, who works at a pharmacy and is romanced by a Clive, a young geeky guy who speaks in one-liners (some decent, some not worthy of that so-bad-it's-funny bad pun status). He says a line in the film that sums him up though about being serious underneath all of his jokes. His interest and sincerity in her is real, which is perhaps what makes Joy tolerate him so much, even as she is around Betty, a hairdresser who can't stop gawking at hot men on the tele (even if they are not to Joy) and can talk a mile while doing crazy things with hair.
It's nothing very remarkable, but it's a good short because it doesn't overstay its welcome, it has some strong talent working in front of the camera- David Thewlis in an early role shows how much he can do with so little and Sylvestra Le Touzel, an actress I've never seen or heard of before this and surprised me with her subtlety and little glances that make her character richer- and the ending is a solid, bittersweet touch. Don't rush out to track it down unless you're a big Mike Leigh fan-boy or girl, but if you happen to already have or seek out the Naked Criterion DVD anyway then it's not something to pass by either.