From director Ken Loach (Kes, Sweet Sixteen) I had heard that this film had a lot of interest surrounding it, and it sounded like something I would enjoy, so of course I watched it. Basically Manchester middle-aged postal sorting office worker Eric Bishop (Summer's Steve Evets) is going through a bad patch, mainly because of ex-wife Lily (Stephanie Bishop) coming back. To comfort himself in most circumstances he seeks advice from the one man he aspires to, and is almost hallucinogenic visions of, footballer Eric Cantona. As time goes by his relationship with Lily, who by the way left him to have their baby, improves, and he is also getting closer to teenage daughter Sam (Coronation Street's Lucy-Jo Hudson) and stepsons, including Ryan (Gerard Kearns). After being humiliated by some local gangsters with the help of a Rottweiler, and having the video put on YouTube, Eric finds out that Ryan has agreed to hide a gun in the house under the floorboards. Eric obviously turns to his imaginary friend Canona for some advice of what to do to make everything settle, and the idea of going up against the gangsters with the help of his post office friends is best. So Eric gets his friends and many Manchester United fans to help in "Operation Cantona", where they all wear the heads, or masks of the famous Eric, and they go to humiliate the gangsters. In the end, the gangsters get their comeuppance, Eric watches his daughter graduate, the whole family have worked things out, and the imaginary friend stays with his pal. Also starring John Henshaw as Meatballs, Stefan Gumbs as Jess and Justin Moorhouse as Spleen. Evets is fantastic as the nearly lonely ordinary Joe on the brink of a breakdown, and Cantona, who you also see the fantastic goals from, is brilliant as his knowledgeable invisible friend, it is a likable comedy drama. Very good!
Review of Looking for Eric
