Summary
Overview
In the inaugural episode of Quickly Kevin Film Club, hosts Chris Gold, Josh Whittacombe, and Michael Marden dissect the 1996 football film 'When Saturday Comes' starring Sean Bean. The panel explores this gritty Sheffield-set drama about a brewery worker who gets a chance to play for Sheffield United, critiquing its dated production choices, rushed pacing, questionable football accuracy, and bizarre narrative decisions while acknowledging Sean Bean's watchable performance.
Introduction and Film Overview
The hosts introduce their new film club podcast and reveal their first selection: 'When Saturday Comes,' a 1996 film starring Sean Bean as Jimmy Muir, a Sheffield United fan working in a brewery who dreams of becoming a professional footballer. They immediately note the film's dated aesthetic, with opening shots resembling a Hovis advert, and discuss how it feels more like a 1960s kitchen sink drama than a mid-90s production. The film was directed by Maria Geist, an American filmmaker whose husband's semi-professional football experiences inspired the story.
- The film stars Sean Bean as Jimmy Muir, a talented footballer stuck working in a brewery who eventually gets a trial with Sheffield United
- The opening shots look like a Hovis advert with sepia-toned Sheffield backstreets that make it feel like the 1950s despite being made in 1996
- The film is directed by Maria Geist, an American woman whose husband was a semi-pro footballer who had trials for Huddersfield
- The film's working title was 'Pint of Bitter' before being changed to 'When Saturday Comes'
" I find it astonishing that it was made in 1996. The opening shots look like a Hovis advert. "
" It's essentially like an identikit of really tired, clichéd genre conventions. "
Terrible Dialogue and Stock Characters
The hosts dissect the film's painfully clichéd dialogue and one-dimensional characters, starting with the opening scene where Jimmy's teacher tells him his only options are 'go down pit or work in factory.' The film is littered with sexist banter and toxic masculinity, particularly in brewery and pub scenes, despite being written and directed by a woman. Characters like the barmaid who serves underage teenagers and Jimmy's gambling-addicted father are criticized as completely two-dimensional stereotypes with no nuance.
- The opening dialogue has the teacher saying 'you've got two choices: go down pit or work in factory' and Jimmy responds 'but sir I want to be a footballer'
- Factory scenes feature awful banter including a worker saying a woman has 'a bum like a bag full of ferrets'
- The barmaid serves clearly underage teenagers alcohol without any concern
- Jimmy's father is portrayed as an unrepentant gambling addict who steals from his wife and wants his son to fail
" The teacher says, you've got two choices: go down pit or work in factory, and he says, but sir I want to be a footballer. Writing is rewriting guys. "
" I'd say he's the most two-dimensional character in the history of film. The bad dad. The dad's awful. He wants his son to fail. He's a gambler. He's stealing money off his wife. He's an unrepentant bad egg. "
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