The Best of British Cinema: ‘Mike Bassett: England Manager’ (2001)
Steve Barron’s 2001 comedy is the best film ever made about football
Ricky Tomlinson is one of Britain’s greatest TV comedians. When thinking of his work, one specific role comes to mind — his character Jim Royle from The Royle Family. Now, I will think too of Mike Bassett, the Kipling loving (‘the poet, not the cake guy’) England manager determined to carry his team to glory. Mike Bassett: England Manager is a kind of mixture of Ted Lasso’s comedic football related antics and Ricky Gervais’ original version of The Office — it is a fantastic cringe comedy made using the faux-documentary style that was popularised by The Office in 2001, the same year that this film was released.
The film introduces us to Tomlinson’s Mike Bassett at an all time career high. His football team Norwich City F.C. have just unexpectedly won their league trophy under his management, and even if the celebrations on the tour bus see the driver turn the wrong way and venture down a highway for a little while, things are looking great for Bassett. Things look up even further when the powers that be decide that, seeing as nobody else even hints at pretending to want the job, Bassett should also manage the England national football team as they head into the World Cup. The rest of the film…
