(1984)
4
Tom Wiener
Even if it's not up to the sublime heights of Local Hero, Comfort and Joy is still a strong entry in writer/director Bill Forsyth's modest filmography. Character actor Bill Paterson is perfect as the likable but ineffectual Alan; you can see why a woman like his girlfriend (Eleanor David), who is first seen shoplifting her way through a department store at Christmas, would grow tired of his plodding ways. Nonetheless, when Alan begins casting about for work that will bring more meaning to his life, you find yourself pulling for him. Forsyth then begins introducing a gallery of off-center characters, most of them connected to the ice cream war Alan stumbles into, and Alan is forced to see beyond his own petty problems to take into account a seemingly petty but truly serious business rivalry. The film never overplays its hand at presenting, as in Local Hero, an insular community of lovably preoccupied folks. Few directors -- Jonathan Demme in Citizens Band and Melvin and Howard and Jean-Pierre Jeunet in Amelie -- can match Forsyth with that kind of achievement.
Comfort and Joy on AllMovie
Comfort and Joy (1984)
