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Sep 11, 2016Nursebob rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
In the spirit of recent English feel-good movies Matthew Warchus’ effervescent little dramedy, based on actual headlines, milks much warmth and humour from its central theme of two opposing cultures coming to understand one another. The miners are all gruff machismo (although the most hateful voice is female) while the gays react with camp wit despite shaking like fish out of water. There’s all the expected watershed moments you’d expect—someone comes out of the closet, someone gets bashed, AIDS rears its ugly head, and small acts of tolerance lead inexorably toward camaraderie—but the swanning is kept to a believable level and no one is relegated to stock cliché. Of course it never happened exactly this way although the LGSM (“Lesbian and Gays Support the Miners”) did raise thousands of pounds causing hundreds of miners to show their gratitude by marching in London’s 1985 Gay Pride Parade. Hollywood manipulations aside, this charming feature is ultimately lifted from the mainstream by a crackling script and editing that never leaves you sitting idle. And the cast, above all, shines in every frame. A fine piece of humanist filmmaking in which blue collars and pink glitter prove once again that there is strength in solidarity.