Brassed Off

If you ignore the fact that Brassed Off is really a political rant about the personal effects of Margaret Thatcher's "reforms" in Northern England mining towns, this enjoyable (if utterly predictable) romantic comedy offers some very good laughs, great marching music, and another fine performance by the underrated Pete Postlethwaite (The Usual Suspects) as Danny, beleaguered leader of the Grimley Colliery Band. Poor Danny boy has problems up the slide trombone: threats to close down the local mine have band members thinking about more important things than winning a music competition, a nagging cough is gaining a persistent foothold in his lungs, and--Jesus, Joseph and Mary--a mysterious woman named Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald) has returned home and wants to join the all-male band. Brassed Off succeeds not because of its love story between Fitzgerald and mining boy toy Ewan McGregor (which is rather flat), but because it's a charming story of ordinary people who, ignoring the fact that their power might be shut off tomorrow, continue to play for personal pride, community spirit, and their indefatigable leader Danny. Recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Dec. 20, 2011—Echo Bridge, 101 min., R, $6.99—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1996's Brassed Off! sports a decent transfer but no special features. Bottom line: a bargain-priced re-release of a crowd-pleaser.]