Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

beth563 I just recently heard there was a Rising Damp movie, and as a fan of the series, I was excited. I'm watching it now, and I find it ridiculous. I've already heard these jokes. Besides, the change of set from old, rundown house to a rather nice rundown house takes away from the atmosphere. Rigsby, Philip and Ruth reprise their roles, but watching this movie is like experiencing summer theater of a play after seeing it on Broadway. A sad, pathetic shadow of itself. I think perhaps if I hadn't seen the series, this would be acceptable. Also, I'm a big fan of Richard Beckinsale, and his absence is felt so deeply. Why did they feel the need to completely replace him? At least they slightly changed the character from a medical student to an art student, but Beckinsale's lines were given to him, making it slightly distasteful.

ShadeGrenade The film version of 'Rising Damp' came out two years after the television series ended. Like many fans I duly went along to the cinema when it opened. I came away bitterly disappointed. Eric Chappell could not have spent very much time writing the script; most of it is rehashed ideas from old episodes. At the time of the film's release, the 'Rising Damp' series was still being repeated regularly on I.T.V. so the public was being asked to pay to see something they'd seen already. At least the 'On The Buses' movies boasted original screenplays.Secondly, Richard Beckinsale had died the year before, so they eliminated the character of 'Alan' as a mark of respect, substituting art student 'John', played by Christopher Strauli of 'Only When I Laugh' fame. It simply wasn't the same.As another poster has pointed out, Rigsby's boarding house looked nothing like the one used in the series, being bigger and altogether cleaner.Director Joe McGrath was one of the directors who worked on the original 'Casino Royale', a film steeped in surreal humour. 'Rising Damp' also has its share of 'Walter Mitty' style fantasy sequences, such as the 'Saturday Night Fever' parody. Personally, I found them horribly out of place. A case of 'over-egging the pudding'.On the plus side, Leonard Rossiter is as magnificent as ever as the seedy 'Rigsby', as are Frances De La Tour as 'Ruth' and Don Warrington as 'Philip. Its just a shame the film isn't worthy of their talents.When Rossiter died in 1984, it was shown by I.T.V. as a tribute, with its final scene - showing Rigsby laying prostrate at the foot of the stairs - removed in the interests of good taste.

ListerUK2001 TV to Film adaptations are notorious for their failure to transfer any of the winning elements that made the show popular. I can't think of a worse proposition than to make a motion picture of the great sitcom Rising Damp. A sublime series that worked for it's performers, scripts and just as importantly it's claustrophobic setting. Even episodes that ventured outside the dingy house in which the characters share, it was often to a single set location for the whole of the second act. In a twenty five minute sitcom, those restrictions can be played up to create some magnificent comedy. On film however, the effect is quite the reverse.Also Richard Berkinsale had tragically passed away by the time came to make the movie. The fourth and final series had been without him due to contractual obligations elsewhere and it left the final run of episodes wanting (though two or three shows still managed to be perfect).Yet despite this Rising Damp the movie was by far and away the finest film adaptation of all time. While not capturing the sheer brilliance of the series, there were plenty of hysterical moments littered throughout the film.First off the three remaining performers are in perfect form. Infact the film was worth making simply as a reason for Lennerd Rossiter to be given an Oscar. Something he was inexplicably denied! His total mastery of the screen as Rigsby is breathtaking. The script is mostly TV episodes mashed together into an episodic structure. Considering the enormous success of these scripts, it would seem a perfectly good idea. However, anyone familiar with the series will notice how must funnier it was on TV and will be wanting to see something new. Eric Chappell's scripts does contain some new material and it is these moments that distinguish the film as superior to other adaptations. The Rugby scene is a particularly brilliant example.10/10

bob the moo Rigsby rents rooms in his house to Miss Jones and African chief Philip. When a room becomes available in his house he gets art student Alan to share Philip's room. This causes tension in the house as Rigsby continues to compete for Miss Jones' affections. When they see Philip on the rugby field a fitness craze goes through the house leading to a boxing match between Rigsby and Philip. With Philip and Alan sharing the upper room Rigsby rents the middle room out to English gentleman Seymour who may or may not be who he claims, leading to more tension as Miss Jones begins to fall under Seymour's spell.This is essentially three episodes worth of stories rolled into a film - the first episode is the new tenant moving into the house, the second episode is the all the fitness thing leading to the boxing match, the third episode is the Seymour incident. In fact each lasts about 30 minutes, although they are nicely rolled into each other so it's not as clear cut as three separate strands. The stories are about as good as the TV show was - so if you like that then you'll probably like this. The best bit is really the final 30 minutes due to Denholm Elliott's presence but there is 1970's style fun to be had with the other sections.From the horribly disco theme song, you know where you are - happily the racist jokes aren't as bad as other 70's sitcoms but it's still there. It's not too offensive because Philip is allowed to rise above the stereotypes and only Rigsby is the one who makes the jokes (and he's made to look stupid and backward). It's not really funny but it's quite amusing. The saving grace is Rossiter as Rigsby - he really is so good in the role to the extent that he rises above the material and makes it better than it is. De la Tour is also good in her well rehearsed role and Don Warrington brings a lot of dignity to the black character who could easily just have been a punching bag for racist jokes. "Only When I Laugh's" Christopher Strauli makes a good addition to the house and Elliot brings a great deal of class to what is essentially a sitcom.Overall this isn't fantastic but it's amusing and entertaining. It does feel like three episodes rolled together but if you're a fan of the series then I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing.