Slice-of-life look at a sweet working-class couple in London, Shirley and Cyril, his mother, who's aging quickly and becoming forgetful, mum's ghastly upper-middle-class neighbors, and Cyril's pretentious sister and philandering husband. Shirley wants a baby, but Cyril, who reads Marx and wants the world to be perfect, is reluctant. Cyril's mum locks herself out and must ask her snooty neighbors for help. Then Cyril's sister Valerie stages a surprise party for mum's 70th birthday, a disaster from start to finish. Shirley holds things together, and she and Cyril may put aside her Dutch cap after all.
Released: Jan 13, 1989
Runtime: 108 minutes
Stars: Phil Davis, Ruth Sheen, Edna Doré, Philip Jackson, Heather Tobias, Lesley Manville
Crew: Mike Leigh (Director), Mike Leigh (Writer), Steve Wheeler (Standby Property Master), Roger Pratt (Director of Photography), Tom Donald (Executive Producer), Simon Fulford (Focus Puller)