This is another quirky British comedy. This one is about a girl named LV (Jane Horrocks) who was so traumatized by her father's death that she became a shut-in. Her only comfort is the stack of records in her room, classics by Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey, and Marilyn Monroe. Out of some weird quirk, she is able to mimic them almost perfectly. Her mother (played to batshit perfect insanity by Brenda Blethyn) looks at her as a burden, an anchor to her old life when she'd much rather be out dancing every night. Everything changes when Mum brings home a local talent scout for a shag. As soon as Ray (Michael Caine) hears LV sing, his eye light up with dollar signs. Here is his big ticket. He starts coaching her out of her agoraphobia and into performing for someone other than the picture of her dead dad.
With some helpful advice from a painfully shy pigeon fancier (Ewen McGregor) who has a crush on her, LV takes the plunge and sings her little heart out at the local cabaret (owned by Jim Broadbent) for a one-night engagement.
One of the things I liked most about this film was how they never tried to fix the relationship between mother and daughter. Brenda Blethyn is less Mama Rose and more Mommie Dearest and you never forget it. Even after the Act 3 climax, she shows only the most ephemeral sense of concern for her progeny. It's refreshing that they didn't feel the need to schmaltz it up with a tearjerking reconciliation in the last hour.
Of course the most impressive part of this whole thing is that Jane Horrocks actually did all the voices she was supposed to have in the film. There are a couple of moments where you could close your eyes and she would be indistinguishable from the real thing.
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