MovieChat Forums > This Is England '90 (2015) Discussion > Scenes with Woody's parents - Annoying, ...

Scenes with Woody's parents - Annoying, silly + unrealistic?


I get that they're trying to be funny with these scenes but, I dunno, they feel so daft and unbelievable.

For a start would Woody even have parents like that? A heavily tattooed, foul-mouthed, jokey, former skinhead character being brought up by 2 members of the Waltons? Is that realistic?

Then there's Woody's ex. She came across fairly normal in the previous series and maturely accepted he wanted to be with Lol. Now she's living with Woody's parents for some reason and wants to organise his wedding for him, like some hopeless creepy stalker.

They're so OTT in their desire to be humorous that they end up taking me out of the programme when they're interspersed with scenes about rape and drug-taking. They don't fit.

On the whole all of these series have been inconsistent in their writing and direction since the film.

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I know that children can grow up to be different to their parents. This example felt like a real stretch though. They are such completely different personalities. If they had been, say Shaun's parents, it would seem more believable. As I say, the main justification for it is the comedy side, so they can have Woody playing up to his mild-mannered and indifferent parents.

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I liked that Woody wasn't from a chavvy background. He's a former skinhead but he's also always been a very nice guy who's both tolerant of and looks out for others. It makes perfect sense that his parents are nice too.

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At least Woody's parents weren't as nauseatingly middle class as Fay's parents. Christ I was cringing at the dad and his olives- I knew people exactly like that.

Woody was a product of both his environment and his parents. His parents were 'nice' but not millionaires and he had gone to the same school as all the others.

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I felt that they almost turned into parodies of their characters from previous series. I liked the fact that they are slightly odd in 86 and 88, I even liked the novel idea that Woody's ex is their best friend. I just felt that this series they went a little too daft (starting with the boss in the cupboard in ep1). The wedding planning scene was again a bit silly and OTT. Comic relief characters are fine, but I felt that their utter daftness broke the reality of the show on occasion.

As far as Woody not having parent that different to him, id have to disagree. Its probably because they are like that that he rebelled and embraced the skinhead culture.

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The scene with the boss in the cupboard was so out of place, it felt like I was watching a sitcom like Keeping Up Appearances or something. Far too silly in amongst the more delicate subject matter in this show.

If I'm brutally honest I was most interested in the Combo situation and wanted to see more of that side of things, throughout all 3 of these spin off series. Combo is a compelling character and Graham is the best actor on the show.

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Nah, I totally get the parents being as they are with a son like Woody.

I've known a few dynamics like that actually. Also the other way about too actually where the child exceeds all expectations from their upbringing to excel.

I think the parents likely longed for their child to be "normal" and saw his ex as that kind of person. She's truly become the "child they never had"

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At the end of the day woody is a decent person

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Meadows has never had a solid grasp on how to mix levity in amongst his misery porn. This season has been the hardest to watch. Any scene with Higgy and Flip, the boss in the cupboard, the fight between the Mothers...all preposterous. As was Smell's reaction to Shawn at the wedding.

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*series, not 'season'. You're not American.

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Aw, diddums, did I say something you didn't agree with?

I'll call it whatever I want. In the meantime, work on your manners, child.

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Yes, you called the series a 'season'. I explained as much in my post...

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And you care because...?

I'll answer that for you, shall I? You care because you're and immature little troll who can't deal with the fact I have been critical about your favourite show. Like all trolls, instead of entering into a discussion you instantly try to start an argument.

For your information I have spent as much time living in The States as I have in the UK, not that it matters as I can describe the show in whatever way I damn well please.

Now grow up.

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I couldn't care less what you think about this show...or 'could care less' as you would probably say.

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You do care, or you wouldn't acting like a baby. Seriously, grow up.

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Play nicely you two, or I shall fetch a policeman

I loved Woody's parents! Probably because my friend is a right Woody and his parents are the same as that.

I imagine its me being a massive child but I loved the comedy elements (but then I enjoy the 'Carry On films so you cant go by me!)



Goodnight, good luck and may your God go with you

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Tonal shifts in this type of drama are hard to pull off. Mike Leigh and Ken Loach can do it, but Meadows is nowhere near their level. Shame, as earlier in his career, particularly after Dead Man's Shoes, I had high hopes.

Maybe if the shifts had been less drastic it would have worked better, but going from full-on misery porn to Three Stooges slapstick from one scene to the next is never going to work. Well, for me, anyway.

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I watched a Mike Leigh film once where these two undertakers go to collect a dead baby, then happy cheery jaunty upbeat music played as they were driving off! That did not sit well with me.

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I agree the tonal shifts were quite jarring. The scenes with Woody, his parents, and the ex, were teetering on sitcom level stuff. The whole ambience of it was similar to something you might get on The Office. Boss in cupboard was pure silly comedy. To put this in amongst serious stuff about rape and drugs is strange.

I never saw any of that going on in This Is England the film. It had humour in sure, but it came in a believable way from characters acting true to life. There was no OTT sitcom stuff. Seemed like Meadows struggled with the film to series format.

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I've said all I wanted to say three posts ago. Stop crying.

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Go away troll.

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'Troll' is just a cliched term people on the Internet use when they're losing the argument. It is hard for me to be offended by it.

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There is no "argument". Only a troll would perceived the dialogue between us as an "argument". You made an idiotic reply to my post with the intention of starting an argument and I told you to grow up.

Which you still haven't elected to do.

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Well I certainly wasn't after an argument. I simply pointed out an error of yours and you got mard on and flipped out all emotional. I didn't start an argument, but you had a good go at it.

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As I have already pointed out, there was no "error". You were just attempting to start a beef with someone you disagreed with, plain for all to see. Typical troll behaviour.

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Wrong. In fact, I can't even recall what else was in your post now. It's just that seeing Brits say 'season' all the time now really irks me.

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Well then that's your problem.

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👍

pLopPy...

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It would probably have been more realistic if they had the family trouble at the wedding reception but I think the writer wanted a happy ending. As anybody who has ever been to a wedding reception knows they can be a powder keg waiting for spark to explode :(

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Oh yeah, that ending was SO happy!

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