Dancin' thru the Dark

Dancin' thru the Dark is a serious comedy set in grey, dreary Liverpool. Linda and Dave are getting married, and on the evening before the wedding they hold their hen and stag nights with their respective girlfriends and mates. The two parties end up at the same disco. While Dave is throwing up in the toilet, Linda meets her old boyfriend Peter, who is back in his home town to play with his successful band. A couple of years ago Peter asked Linda to come with him to London, but she said no and stayed behind. When he asks her again, he gets the same answer, even though they certainly still have feelings for each other.

In the meantime, Linda's married friend Bernie has become jealous of Linda's contact with Peter, so Bernie convinces the other girls and Dave's mates that Linda is about to call off the wedding. When the party finds Linda she gets a verbal thrashing from her friends, and one of Dave's mates, the aggressive Eddie, threatens Linda into going through with the wedding. That makes Linda change her mind. Suddenly she understands why Peter despises the mentality of the young people who call themselves her friends.

Willy Russell writes sharp and very English comedies. As in "Educating Rita", he skewers mediocrity. Øst for Paradis imported the film, and now I am sorry I didn't see it in the cinema.