Comfort and Joy

Bill Forsyth, UK, 1984, 106 minutes

Set during Christmas time in Glasgow, Comfort and Joy stars Bill Paterson as Alan 'Dicky' Bird, a popular local DJ. After his girlfriend Maddy (Eleanor David) decides to leave him, he takes to wandering the streets in hopeless desperation. Obsessed with his loss, he soon finds himself caught up in the middle of a bizarre war between rival Italian Ice Cream sellers.

This is a very endearing movie. It's definitely a much more ambitious work than the director's previous comedy Gregory's Girl. Quietly humourous, it seeks to explore the motivations of a man whose life appears devoid of meaning. For the most part its successful, but it has to be said that at times the story does drift aimlessly. The humour occasionally lacks much needed bite. Even so, there are enough genuinely affecting moments to please any viewer. Bill Paterson is marvellous as Dicky and Ricky Fulton is absolutely hilarious as Hilary, the head of the radio station who begins to doubt his employee's sanity.

Review by Stephen Townsend
Taken from EUFS Programme 1992-93