Mike Bassett: England Manager

When the England manager dies suddenly, the job falls to Mike Bassett, up from the second division and taken seriously by nobody. He humiliates himself at press conferences, writes his squad on a napkin and tries to get the team to the World Cup. Steve Barron directed. Ricky Tomlinson plays Bassett. The film is built as a mockumentary: the camera follows Bassett and records the press conferences and dressing-room talks directly. The humour rests entirely on English football culture: what supporters expect, the newspaper headlines, and a manager saying the same sentences after every match. Where it works is in imitating the template without exaggeration; the scenes look like things that could actually happen, which is why it was quoted in England for years. It did better than expected at the box office and led to a sequel and a series. Who it is for: viewers who like football humour and the mockumentary form. Who it is not for: anyone uninterested in football; most of the material comes from there.