To be honest, it is about fifty years since I read David Copperfield while at school (Yes, I know. I look so young!) and I do tend to mix up the details with all the other Dickens I had to read, so I wasn’t too sure what the story was — other than a loose autobiography of the man himself and to be about the hardships of life in Victorian England.
I’d heard that the humor of the original story was to be emphasized, and given that Armando Iannucci was heavily involved (directing and contributing to the screenplay) I expected there would be a few laughs along the way. I’m not sure how well-known he is in the States, other than creating and writing some of Veep, but he has a string of political and situation comedies over here and I am quite the fan of his.
The World’s Most Indispensable Movie App
The RunPee app tells you the best times to
run & pee during a movie
so you don't miss the best scenes.
Download the RunPee app.
100% free (donation supported)
I was quite looking forward to this and I was not disappointed. The colour blind casting worked for me, but maybe that says more about my liberal, socialist tendencies than it does about the casting technique.
Dev Patel was an excellent and very watchable David Copperfield. Tilda Swinton was marvelously bonkers as Betsey Trotwood. Ben Whishaw was almost unrecognizable as the oleaginous Uriah Heep. Peter Capaldi, Hugh Laurie, and Paul Whitehouse were, as always, giving full value for money.
The biggest eye opener was Bronagh Galagher as Mrs Micawber. I don’t know if she is guzzling monkey glands or has a dodgy portrait in the attic but she was instantly recognizable as one of the backing singers from The Commitments back in 1991.
It was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours on a Friday morning. The story rattled along quite nicely. The jokes were there; I won’t say that they came thick and fast, but there were enough to keep me smiling. The acting was excellent. The effects were non-existent. At least that was the — well — effect; it all seemed to have been done on-camera. Obviously there were digital effects (the Palace of Westminster under construction for example), but they weren’t in-your-face, which allowed you to enjoy the story.
Grade: B+
What people are saying
about the RunPee app.
July 30, 2023
My bladder thanks you so much!! App works great for telling u when and for how long you have a pee break! I didn’t use the timer function so the dialog in the movie was a great clue as to when to go. I also liked the info about each movie to know whether there was any extra scenes during or after the credits. Nothing worse than waiting for all the credits and then no extra scene.
View all reviews
Apple App Store | Google Play Store
Download RunPee app
About The Peetimes: In some ways the film reflects the episodic nature of the original text so finding breaks was fairly straightforward and they can be summed up easily.
There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of The Personal History of David Copperfield. (What we mean by Anything Extra.)
Rated (PG) n/a
Genres: Comedy, Drama
Don’t miss your favorite movie moments because you have to pee or need a snack. Use the RunPee app (Androidor iPhone) when you go to the movies. We have Peetimes for all wide release films every week, including Moana 2, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Kraven the Hunter, Wicked, Gladiator II and coming soon Mufasa: The Lion King, Nosferatu, A Complete Unknown and many others. We have literally thousands of Peetimes—from classic movies through today’s blockbusters. You can also keep up with movie news and reviews on our blog, or by following us on Twitter @RunPee. If there’s a new film out there, we’ve got your bladder covered.
Leave a Reply