Rita, Sue and Bob Too
| Rita, Sue and Bob Too | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Alan Clarke |
| Produced by |
Oscar Lewenstein Sanford Lieberson |
| Written by | Andrea Dunbar |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Michael Kamen |
| Cinematography | Ivan Strasburg |
| Edited by | Steve Singleton |
| Distributed by | Channel 4 |
|
Release date
|
1987 |
|
Running time
|
89 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Rita, Sue and Bob Too is a 1987 British comedy-drama film directed by Alan Clarke, set in Bradford, about two teenaged schoolgirls who have a sexual fling with a married man. It was adapted by Andrea Dunbar, based on two of her stage plays; Rita Sue and Bob Too (1982) and The Arbor (1980). Which was first performed at The Royal Court Theatre, London. Its portrayal of ordinary people's lives made it a cult film soon after its cinematic release. The strapline of the film was: "Thatcher's Britain with her knickers down."
Rita and Sue are two teenaged girls in their final year of school who live on a run down council estate in Bradford. To earn some money, they babysit for Bob and Michelle (Lesley Sharp), a better-off couple who live in a detached house in a nicer part of town. When the couple return later, Michelle pays the girls and tells Bob to give them a lift home. Bob, however, drives them to an out of the way place to have sex with each of them in the back of his car. They nonchalantly agree, and he and the girls plan to make it a regular thing. By the time they're finished, it's 2 a.m.
Sue sneaks into her house hoping that everyone is in bed. However, her drunken father is waiting for her in the living room, holding a half a snooker cue, threatening to "wrap it round [her] neck". Sue and her parents proceed to argue about why she's home so late, with her mother taking Sue's side. After her father gives up and goes to bed, Sue's mother asks for the truth, but Sue repeats the lie, to her mother's disappointment.
Sue gets a part-time job at a local taxi firm, and meets Aslam (Kulvinder Ghir), a Pakistani boy who drives for the firm. He and another driver make a bet on who can get her into bed first. Sue rebuffs them. At school, Bob shows up at Rita and Sue's P.E. tennis class to take them for a "jump" (sex). Rita manages to get permission from the teacher to use the toilet (a ruse to see Bob); but Sue is denied and told to get back to the class. She takes her anger out on another student. Bob takes Rita to a furnished showhome on a new housing development, where they have sex.
Later on, Michelle finds a package of condoms in Bob's trousers whilst ironing them. Bob tells her that he and his mates were blowing them up like balloons at the pub for fun, but Michelle doesn't believe him and they argue. During the argument, it is revealed that Michelle is frigid and reluctant to have sex, which frustrates Bob. It also turns out that Bob previously had an affair, discovered when Michelle found his mistress's bracelet in their bed; the mistress had also been their babysitter. Michelle goes upstairs to get ready for their planned night out, for which Rita and Sue are again babysitting. Bob warns the girls that Michelle is suspicious and will ask them questions and try to trick them. They convince Michelle that Bob isn't sleeping with either of them.
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