Post-war Britain, in the throes of rationing: ordinary working-class people feel the pinch of reduced meat rations, but the upper classes seem to be finding ways to evade the regulations and keep their larders full. So when one couple (Michael Palin and Maggie Smith) discover a plot to illegally fatten up a pig for private consumption, they hatch a plan to kidnap the pig for their own benefit. Of course, things go wrong. Like the making of this movie.

A Private Function ought to be funny, but it's not. How could I give such a low rating to a movie with two excellent comic actors like Michael Palin and Maggie Smith? Well, even the best actors need good material to work with, as well as general competency on the part of the filmmakers. Sadly, these supports are not there in A Private Function.

To start with, A Private Function wins my personal Worst Editing Ever award, hands down. The opening fifteen or so minutes of the film is nearly incoherent due to the way the film cuts suddenly from one character to another, providing nothing by way of context to identify where the characters are or how they relate to the others. Many of these cuts are from one tight perspective of a person inside a house to another tight perspective on a different person inside a house... but is it a different room in the same house, or a different house? It's difficult to express just how muddled the film gets because of this; a significant number of characters are introduced in the opening few scenes, and it's utterly unclear where they are, or how they are related to each other.

The film as a whole tries to get its comic effect from the social interactions of the various characters in the town, along with the lengths they are willing to go to in order to get some extra meat. The first aspect of the film is sabotaged by the utterly confusing introduction of the characters, as it's difficult to keep track of how the characters relate to each other when you have hardly any idea of who's who in the first place.

The second aspect of the film is sabotaged by the lack of context. The story obviously revolves around some constraints that aren't currently in place, namely food rationing. This in itself is not a problem: as long as we understand the rules of the game, so to speak, we can appreciate the characters' antics as they try to bend the rules, break them, or otherwise get an advantage. The problem is that we never really learn the rules of the game. The basic point is made early on: despite the fact that World War II is over, food rationing is still in effect. However, as the film progresses, it becomes clear that there are many subtleties to this whole food rationing business... and we aren't told, or shown, what they are. So it turns out that much of the plot involves a multitude of characters (whom we can't really keep straight) getting in trouble for various food-related infractions (though it's not clear exactly what they are) and other characters going to great lengths to avoid getting caught doing something (though we don't really ever get a sense of how they're going to benefit from what they're doing, or what exactly is illegal about it). There are too many missing pieces to the puzzle: the end result is that A Private Function falls completely flat.

The DVD

Video

A Private Function is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, preserving its original aspect ratio. The image quality is satisfactory overall. Colors are reasonably bright and natural looking, and noise is at an acceptable level. Contrast could be a bit better in dark scenes, but on the whole it's a decent transfer. A pan-and-scan version of the film is also included.

Audio

The Dolby mono soundtrack is a major problem for this DVD. The dialogue is very muffled-sounding and difficult to understand, while the remainder of the track is too loud and has a harsh tinge to it. It's necessary to keep the volume quite high to have any chance at catching the dialogue. The overall result is that the audio experience is distinctly unsatisfactory and detracts significantly from the enjoyment of the film.

Extras

A set of trailers for other MGM films is the only special feature on this DVD.

Final thoughts

Unfunny and uninteresting, A Private Function is the waste of Michael Palin and Maggie Smith's talents, as well as an hour and a half of precious viewing time. The poor quality of the soundtrack puts the nail in the coffin of this DVD: your best bet is to skip it entirely.