Cheeky

Directed by David Thewlis

UNITED KINGDOM/FRANCE/94 MINUTES/SPECIAL PRESENTATION

Cheeky, an unabashedly sentimental comedy/drama, is surprising in that it's been written and directed by outwardly non-sentimental actor David Thewlis (this is, after all, the same man who inhabited the skin of an abusive drifter in Mike Leigh's Naked). In Cheeky, Thewlis stars as an agreeable toyshop owner who loses his wife in a house fire. After discovering that his late wife wanted him to appear on a game show called Cheeky, the object of which is to first answer a series of trivia questions and then berate the opposing contestant in as colorful a manner as possible. Though it's fairly easy to see where all this is going (Thewlis' character and his son haven't gotten along since the death), Cheeky remains entertaining because of Thewlis - both as an actor and a filmmaker. His script often walks a fine line between wacky hijinks and searing family drama, but it works (and there's not too many directors that could pull that combination off, certainly). And he does a nice job of portraying this damaged character, and turns him into a figure that we're really rooting for. Cheeky probably won't appeal to more jaded viewers, but really, there's nothing wrong with a sweet and tender movie every now and then (especially when it's done this effectively).

*** out of ****