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Shirley Valentine

59 replies

vivariumvivariumsvivaria · 10/07/2020 23:25

How many of us are watching Channel 5 and have an urge to go to Greece?

It came out when I was a teen. She is a lesson in emotional load management.

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BernardBlackMissesLangCleg · 11/07/2020 09:21

i bloody love that film

i'm 1 year older than shirley. but she had a grown up daughter, I still have young and very dependent children. no solo buggering off to Greece for me for a bit. it's on the to do list though

Yesitsthethruth123 · 11/07/2020 08:52

One of my favourite films. Brilliant screenplay and brilliantly acted.

But yes, I'm 42 and watching it when I was younger, it seemed that 42 was middle aged. I suppose it seemed so in the 80s but not at all now.

And going back even further, thinking of my Grans wedding photos from the 50s, the bride and grooms parents must have only been in their 40s but looked and dressed much, much older.

okiedokieme · 11/07/2020 08:44

Me! And the story does kind of resonate now whereas the last time I saw it i was a teen (at cinema).

BalloonSlayer · 11/07/2020 08:18

He doesn't say "egg and chips," though does he, he says "chips and egg." Is that a Liverpool thing? I have never heard it said that way round in real life and it always bothers me.

I have got the play text of Educating Rita and Willy Russell writes in the introduction about how he started again, going to College as an adult. I did the similar (although have done bugger all with my life since) and it really resonated with me. I remember the euphoria of my first day at university aged 31 so well, it was like : Right. At last I am here where I should have been aged 18. Back on track!

SteelyPanther · 11/07/2020 07:53

I absolutely love this film !
Particularly when she feeds the vegetarian blood hound his steak 🥩

hamstersarse · 11/07/2020 07:36

Haven’t watched it for years but the “egg and chips? We don’t have egg and chips on a Tuesday” scene stuck with me.

The monotony of wifedom portrayed perfectly.

I had a SV weekend when I separated from my husband. On my own, went away, met a man. Was joyous frivolity but also life changing.

speakout · 11/07/2020 07:29

I have watched is many times- love it! Free on youtube.

SugarPlumFairyCakes · 11/07/2020 07:21

I started out as Educating Rita and ended up as Shirley Valentine before Greece.
Onwards and upwards though, this year, or definately next year, maybe.

Skyliner001 · 11/07/2020 07:14

This film is incredible!! But how old did she seam at 42!

SophocIestheFox · 11/07/2020 07:12

Ah, it’s such a great film!

I want to drink a glass of wine watching the sunset in Greece right now. Grrrr, stupid pandemic.

42, though, bloody hellfire, when I saw it first in the cinema (on a date with a slightly odd boy 😂) I thought she was ancient. I’m quite a bit older than that now...

LemonadeAndDaisyChains · 11/07/2020 00:35

Love that film, not seen for years!
Can definitely relate. Hello, walls Grin

HandsOffMyRights · 11/07/2020 00:14

But, all these years later? I've stupidly landed up with her life. Not quite sure how that happened, either.

Me too. It's relevant.

OrlandoInTheWilderness · 11/07/2020 00:11

Oh I love Shirley Valentine! Such an awesome film.

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vivariumvivariumsvivaria · 11/07/2020 00:09

No, I don't think it's dated.

The Argos catalogue behind the dial in phone, maybe.

But, all these years later? I've stupidly landed up with her life. Not quite sure how that happened, either.

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RainySaturday · 10/07/2020 23:58

Just watching it now with my teen daughters and having v to explain that it was ground breaking at the time. It does seem very dated now.

Rummikub · 10/07/2020 23:58

Yes she’s 42
Pauline though was 48 after a quick google

Rummikub · 10/07/2020 23:56

Watching too
First time I watched it I thought she was old now I see she’s young and still has fire.
And loved seeing Index in the background of the shopping centre when they had tea!

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vivariumvivariumsvivaria · 10/07/2020 23:55

Did she say she's 42?

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magicstar1 · 10/07/2020 23:54

I remember my mother going to the cinema on her own to watch it, and it’s still one of her favourites. I was a teenager, now I’m three years older than SV. I love the way she’s not afraid to speak her mind, and hasn’t lost her spark...Just mislaid it for a while

HandsOffMyRights · 10/07/2020 23:51

I have wanted to re-watch this for a few years, now that I am 47 with two teens.

A male on FB wrote about it in a derogatory way, mentioning 'Karens' but I couldn't reply as it was the work account.
Wanker. I loved this film and I know I will relate to it now.

FloralBunting · 10/07/2020 23:45

'Aren't men full o' shit?' 😂🤣😂🤣😂

Melroses · 10/07/2020 23:44

I think I need to watch this again.

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vivariumvivariumsvivaria · 10/07/2020 23:41

Splash!

It's so brilliantly written.

And I've never had a shag on a boat. Which seems a bit remiss, actually.

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FloralBunting · 10/07/2020 23:39

God, I love this story. I remember watching it as a very young woman and waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the punishment for her wayward behaviour to arrive. And it didn't. She found the courage to go after what she wanted after a lifetime of giving out to others and squashing her own desires down, and she finds it and clearly has no intention of ever losing it again. Even through all my years of doing the same stupid things, the message that actually, women could live lives where they weren't ultimately made to suffer for independence or had to be paired off with a man to be happy, stayed with me.

Powerplant · 10/07/2020 23:37

Oh and I love the Durrels real escapism