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5.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. A Cuckoo in the Nest remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Right, so, A Cuckoo in the Nest. If you’re here looking for something super sleek and modern, turn back now. This one’s for the folks who genuinely enjoy settling in with a cup of tea and a proper old British farce. Think of it as a comfortable, slightly dusty armchair of a film. If the idea of misunderstandings, slamming doors (metaphorical here, mostly), and polite panic sounds like a good time, you’ll probably get a kick out of it. If you need explosions or even just a quick pace, this might feel like watching paint dry. You’ve been warned. 🤷♀️
The whole thing hinges on a very simple, very British predicament: a packed country inn. Our two main characters, Peter Wyke and Marguerite Hickett, are stuck.
And they used to be engaged, which is just brilliant for adding *layers* to the awkwardness. They're both married now, but not to each other, obviously.
So, when the innkeeper, bless his harried soul, tells them they have to share the only available room, well, you can just imagine the polite, internal screaming.
It’s not a film that races. It kind of… ambles. And that’s part of its charm, really.
You spend a good chunk of time just watching them fret about the situation. The way they gingerly navigate the room, trying desperately not to make eye contact, it’s all very much played for laughs that build slowly.
There’s a scene where one of them tries to sleep in a chair, and the other keeps offering a blanket. It goes on a bit, but that’s the point. The *prolonged* discomfort is the joke.
Ben Travers, who wrote this for the stage first, really knew how to milk these situations. It’s got that specific kind of drawing-room comedy feel.
You can almost see the stage directions in the way the actors move. Tom Walls, as the slightly blustery Major, is just… *so* Tom Walls.
He doesn't even need to say much; his *presence* is half the performance. And Robertson Hare, with his perpetually worried look, is also just *perfect* for this kind of thing. You expect him to stammer, and he does, wonderfully. 🙏
The wives, of course, eventually show up. Because of course they do.
And that's when the real fun starts, or rather, the real *panic*. Seeing them try to cover up the innocent-but-looks-terrible situation is the bread and butter of this kind of comedy.
One character keeps trying to casually whistle a tune, but it just comes out as a series of strained puffs. It's a small detail, but it really stuck with me. You can feel the stress radiating off the screen.
There’s a moment when someone almost walks in on them, and the sheer *contortion* one of them goes through to hide behind a curtain… it’s a bit over-the-top, but that’s what makes it funny. It’s not subtle, but it doesn't need to be. The whole film operates on that level of heightened, very British, embarrassment.
I found myself wondering about the logistics of that inn, though. Seriously, how packed does a place have to be for a reputable establishment to suggest a man and a woman, strangers essentially, share a room?
It’s a plot device, sure, but it’s so central to everything. Maybe they just had fewer rules back then, or the innkeeper was truly at his wit's end. Probably the latter. 😂
IMDb 4.8
1928
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