LCShackley THE MATCH is in the same category of "little UK films" as CALENDAR GIRLS, THE ENGLISHMAN WHO..., LOCAL HERO, etc. which depend on a likable and quirky set of characters to drive a plot that you KNOW will "all turn out right" from the first frame. As many have pointed out, there's not much you couldn't guess about the plot as it proceeds, but I enjoyed being along for the ride. Watching Bill Paterson, Ian Holm, Richard E. Grant and the others obviously enjoying their roles was a pleasure. The slightly odd Celtic soundtrack by Harry Gregson-Williams, plus the interesting choices of source music, added an extra layer of enjoyment. Just ignore the plot holes (would there really have been a bar called L'BISTRO in 1899?) and have yourself a jolly good evening of light fun.

us_rugby_fan-1 I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. The only reason I gave it an 8 is because of the "love" interests they try and through it. If they would have just kept the movie about football between the two pubs, then it would have made a 10 easy. Funny and entertaining, just can't get better than that. In all honesty, the football scene is way too short for the build up. I will admit, the ending is predictable. It starts off OK, builds, plateaus, then ends predictably. I recommend this to anyone who loves football. However it does not portray small town Scottish life very well. Rent it or buy it, you'll love it. I give it 3 thumbs up.

Claudio Carvalho Wullie Smith (Max Beesley) is a handicapped young man with a serious trauma: his brother Johnny died when they were young while climbing a mountain because of his fault. He works as a milkman in a tiny city in Scotland and has a crush on Rosemary Bailey (Laura Fraser). However, he is too shy to declare his love to her. Every night, Wullie meets his friends in a pub called `Bennys'. This place is the fruit of a bet made one hundred years ago, against another pub, `Le Bistro'. In that time, their owners firmed a stake: Bennys would never win Le Bistro in one hundred soccer games along one hundred years. The winner of the bet would take possession of both pubs. In the present, Bennys has lost the previous ninety-nine games, and needs desperately to win the last game. I bought this DVD maybe two years ago in a sale offer, and I have not paid attention to it until today. I have just seen it, and it is a delightful and exciting movie. The story is indeed a comedy, but has also drama and romance. The cast has a great performance and makes the viewer cheers in many situations. I am Brazilian, land of the soccer (The British invented this game, and we improved it), and five times world champion, and I love soccer. This movie has absurd, such as the couch, who is handicap, decides the game shooting a penalty in the end of the match, but who is caring to that? The important thing is `the good guys' win `the bad guys', and this is achieved. It is a very funny situation, because in Brazil, we soccer fans have a saying, which is: `Penalty is so important that the president of the club should be responsible for shooting it'. Therefore, for us Brazilians, it is very funny the foregoing mentioned situation. Pierce Brosnan has a surprisingly participation in the end of the story. This film is highly recommended for fans of soccer. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): `A Aposta' (`The Bet')

smiley pie This is one of the funniest films of teh year it stars Max Beesley and Richard E Grant who both live in a tiny village and Geore Gus (Richard E Grant) owns his own pub and has had pub football team that has an annual match once a year for the past 99 years. When Wullie Smith (Max Beesley) takes over as the manager of "Bennys" another pub he has just 14 days to train a team that may win the match for the first time ever!!! Neil Morrissey as a bloke called "Piss-Off" this is because if any one asks him a question he answers with "Piss Off". He is a former pro but when he found his wife in the team bath with the rest of the team he retired and never played again. Both teams are desperate to get him play and when he turns up at the match in Gus's team colours they may be a bit of trouble for "Benny's"Wullie has lived there all his life and when he childhood sweethart comes back there may be a bit of skills required off the pitch as well.The only think wrong about this film is that it is remarkably similar to John Godber's film Up 'N' Under except this film is about football and nort rugbyThis being Mick Davis first ever film I look forward to seeing more of his presentations and hopes he keeps the same humor in the next film he makes.IMDB members have given this 7.2 out of 10 which I think is better than what the voters have given it. 8.5/10