Willy Russell adapted his own play for this tour de force from Pauline Collins as the bored housewife who spends much of her time at home guzzling wine and talking to the wall before her husband (Bernard Hill) comes home from work for his supper at 6pm prompt! When her friend "Jane" (Alison Steadman) wins an holiday on Mykonos for a fortnight, she invites "Shirley" to accompany her. She initially ...

"Shirley Valentine" is a hugely entertaining film populated by richly layered and vividly drawn characters and fortunately it successfully manages to completely depart from its small scale theatrical roots to become a genuine motion picture treat. It essentially covers the same basic themes as "Educating Rita" (1983) and it is just as successful at doing this the second time around. The central ch...