Nigel Hawthorne and Timothy Spall are mostly wasted in this somewhat limp comedy that can't make up its mind whether to emphasize wit or slapstick, and gives us little of the one and nothing special of the other.
The plot revolves around a tradesman (no aristocrat by any means-- note the reference to Cheapside) who wants to make good connections (i.e. to enter polite society through relatives) by marrying his daughter off to an aristocratic family, and an aristocratic family that needs the infusion of cash that such a marriage would bring.
Unfortunately everyone and every thing is so broadly drawn that little of the social humor registers, with the exception of Spall's enthusiasm for 'improvement' of the landscape with waterworks, Venetian canals, and other artificial devices and his fetish for timepieces.
The bawdiness is all good fun and of a piece with the period, but the quality of the dialog falls short. The authentic location adds to the ambiance, but the low contrast and washed-out colors of the shot-on-tape look reduce the pleasure.
The DVD suffers from an irritating fault as well, as so many of the Blockbuster exclusives do: fast forwarding or reversing produces no viewable scan, and there are no chapters.
The plot revolves around a tradesman (no aristocrat by any means-- note the reference to Cheapside) who wants to make good connections (i.e. to enter polite society through relatives) by marrying his daughter off to an aristocratic family, and an aristocratic family that needs the infusion of cash that such a marriage would bring.
Unfortunately everyone and every thing is so broadly drawn that little of the social humor registers, with the exception of Spall's enthusiasm for 'improvement' of the landscape with waterworks, Venetian canals, and other artificial devices and his fetish for timepieces.
The bawdiness is all good fun and of a piece with the period, but the quality of the dialog falls short. The authentic location adds to the ambiance, but the low contrast and washed-out colors of the shot-on-tape look reduce the pleasure.
The DVD suffers from an irritating fault as well, as so many of the Blockbuster exclusives do: fast forwarding or reversing produces no viewable scan, and there are no chapters.