''Girls' Night'' is a 1998 British

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by Nick Hurran. Loosely based upon the real experiences of writer Kay Mellor, the film stars

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...

and

Brenda Blethyn Brenda Blethyn (''née'' Bottle; 20 February 1946) is an English actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and two Academy Award nominations. Blethyn ...

as two sisters-in-law and best friends, one dying of cancer, who fulfil a lifelong dream of going to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, after an unexpected jackpot win on the bingo. Premiered to a mixed response by critics at the 1998

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

, who noted it a "rather formulaic tearjerker ithtwo powerhouse Brit actresses", Hurran won a Silver Spire at the

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in i ...

and received a

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

nomination at the

48th Berlin International Film Festival The 48th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 February 1998. The festival opened with the Irish film ''The Boxer'' by Jim Sheridan. Francis Ford Coppola's '' The Rainmaker'' was selected as the closing night film. The ...

for his work.

Plot

Set in working class, northern England, Jackie Simpson and Dawn Wilkinson have been life-long best friends and in-laws, as Dawn is married to Jackie's brother. The two women work together side-by-side in a factory, and have a girls' night every Friday. One Friday night, in the bingo hall while Jackie is fooling around with the manager Paul, Dawn wins the Bingo jackpot, 100,000 pounds. As they always split their winnings, Jackie is due to get 50,000, so she happily cleans out her things, leaving her husband a note with the keys, saying he can keep it. Jackie surprises her lover with her belongings, hoping to stay awhile. The next day, clashing with the boss, Jackie gets sacked. Shortly after, Dawn collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Undergoing a barrage of tests, they discover she has cancer again (she'd had breast cancer years ago). He tells her they want to immediately put her on a course of radiation therapy. When her husband Steve picks her up, she says nothing, but arriving home, seeing her teenagers roughhousing, she inexplicably starts crying. That Friday, the sisters-in-law go to the bingo party to collect the check. When asked what she'll do with the money, Jackie quips in the idea of a trip to Las Vegas. Her husband Dave brings her a document officially getting her off the mortgage. She finds out then that Dawn had been in hospital. On Monday, Dawn is off the line at work and given a simpler task usually given to newbies, a more isolating job. Steve gives Jackie only 35,000 instead of the 50 Dawn had promised her. Dawn's second session of radio makes her vomit, and lose a bit of hair. She announces she's going to pack it in at work. Jackie and Paul break it off when she discovers he's not been exclusive. He's frustrated that she had essentially moved in a month ago, which he hadn't wanted. Steve come across Jackie as she's wheeling away with her suitcases, looking for help with Dawn. Her hair is sparse and she looks terrible, but she refuses to admit to what's going on. Jackie marches down ti the hospital, insisting she speak with her doctor. She discovers that Dawn is now refusing more treatment, as it's not reducing her brain tumor. Jackie pops by Dawn's, whisking her away to an adventure in Las Vegas. In her first few minutes at the slot machines, Dawn hits the jackpot. Not prepared for such a big payout, Cody loans her his cowboy hat. She calls Steve that night to tell him they are having a blast in Las Vegas. Cody invites them to spend a day exploring Nevada on horseback. Beforehand, Dawn wins again at the roulette table, and after they split the $500+ Jackie chastises her for giving up. Trail riding with Cody by his Nevada ranch, afterwards Jackie is dropped off at the hotel, and Dawn stays out for a bit as Jackie is hopeful she has a fling. She doesn't and decides she wants to end their trip. Back at home, Jackie nurses Dawn, apologizes to Dave. She gives a eulogy at the funeral. At the wake in her home, the family finds gifts for them under the bed. Her message to Jackie from the grave is Cody's cowboy hat, so she returns to him in Nevada.

Cast

— Jackie Simpson *

— Dawn Wilkinson *

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

— Cody * Philip Jackson — Dave Simpson *

George Costigan George J. Costigan (born 8 August 1947) is an English actor who is best known for portraying Bob in the 1987 film ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too'' and for roles in TV series such as '' Happy Valley'' and '' So Haunt Me''. Early life Born in Portsmouth ...

— Steve Wilkinson *

Anthony Lewis Anthony Lewis (March 27, 1927 – March 25, 2013) was an American public intellectual and journalist. He was twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and was a columnist for ''The New York Times''. He is credited with creating the field of legal jour ...

— Mathew Wilkinson *

Maxine Peake Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in the BBC One sitcom '' dinnerladies'' (1998–2000), Veronica Ball in the hit Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'' (2004–2007), Mart ...

— Sharon * James Gaddas — Paul * Judith Barker — Helen *

Sue Cleaver Susan Owen ( Cleaver; born 2 September 1963) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Eileen Grimshaw on the ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', which she has played since 2000. Early and personal life Cleaver wa ...

— Rita *

Meera Syal Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...

— Carmen *

Sophie Stanton Sophie Stanton (born 1971 in London, England) is an English actress, director and playwright. She is best known for her role as DCI Jill Marsden in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in which she has appeared on and off since 2001. Career Ea ...

— Jane * Fine Time Fontayne — Ken *

Brent Huff Brent Huff (born March 11, 1961) is an American actor, writer and film director. Huff is best known for his recurring role of Smitty in the hit ABC show, The Rookie. He has also had recurring roles in Shameless, Pensacola: Wings of Gold and Blac ...

— Bobby Joe * Nigel Whitmey — Tyrone *

Kathryn Hunt Kathryn Hunt is a British actress best known for her roles as Angela Harris in '' Coronation Street'' and Val Lorrimer in Series 1–2 of ''Fat Friends''. She also appeared in '' Waterloo Road'' and ''The Royal''. Kathryn also starred in the ...

— nurse

Reception

The film grossed £0.7 million ($1.2 million) in the United Kingdom and $1.5 million worldwide.

References

External links

* {{Nick Hurran 1998 films British comedy-drama films 1998 comedy-drama films Films directed by Nick Hurran Films scored by Edward Shearmur Films shot in Greater Manchester 1990s female buddy films British female buddy films 1990s English-language films 1990s British films