TxMike I've not had the opportunity to spend any time in a British prison, but I doubt that the prison life is as nice in reality as it is portrayed here. But I think that's part of the comedy, part of the suspension of disbelief, for a bunch of happy-go-lucky prisoners who encourage the prison warden (called 'governor') to perform the stage musical "Nelson" that he has written, while at the same time plotting an escape. It stars James Nesbitt, an Irishman who is remarkably similar to George Clooney with a thick accent, as Jimmy Hands, inept bank robber. A very entertaining 103 minutes, I enjoyed this movie more than such British comedies as 'The Full Monty' and 'Brassed Off.' some SPOILERS follow, please read no further. Jimmy and his partner, playing cops and robbers since kids, attempt a bank heist that will set them up for life, bungle it badly, and are sent to prison. Jimmy is nice but headstrong, spends most of his time in 14-day solitary stints, but finds (1) that the old chapel happens to be the ideal place to stage a break and (2) the warden would like to perform his musical in the old chapel because acoustics are ideal. So Jimmy encourages the warden, feeds his ego, while they devise a plan to use a rope ladder prop to go over the wall during the play. When a new prisoner, a violent man, shows up, and tells Jimmy he will be included, smart Jimmy devises a misdirection which ends up with the violent criminal being caught, while his three friends escape, with the help of the pilot wife of one of them. They simply dressed as theater-goers and walked out in the dark with the rest of the audience. At the last minute Jimmy stayed behind, to serve out his two years, and be with the pretty prison anger-management psychologist who was his leading lady in the musical. He eventually got out, she was there for him. As credits roll we see the former chief prison guard patrolling a parking garage for a living, two of the escapees and the pilot wife partying in Rio, and the final escapee selling "maps to the stars" in Hollywood. This film is primarily a comedy, but there are commentaries on love and devotion, plus a tragic suicide after the gentle inmate finds out his wife may be running out on him.A decent DVD with a good soundtrack, no extras worth mentioning.

lingmeister This type of comedy seem to be the specialty of the Britain, where it is usually situated in some dilapidated environment with its main characters in some despaired situation. They eventually overcome whatever barriers that is set upon them by their own perseverance on what and desire to do what's right.Lucky Break is one of them, this time, in a prison setting. But with the environment given, interaction with other characters are limited, which leads to a lot of scenes that feels redundant.The prison scenario for the film is also pretty far fetched, with it almost being a school dorm as opposed to a secured environment. It seems that if it wasn't this way, most of the interactions between characters would not be able to take place.But the ending is what these films are all about, giving the characters who has been dragging themselves in the gutter some hope, which is what they need in their circumstance, and eventually, prevail.

HairyMart Calling this a comedy is like calling a pile of compost a flower garden (I was going to write something else but didn't think it would be published).Its just isn't funnyits unbelievable, - "Hello I'm a very attractive, professional woman, I'll just wander off alone with an armed robber for a romantic meal !!!",makes no sense "Hello I'm depressed prisoner(Timothy Spall) - the guards hate me, my wife is seeing another man, I was framed ... oops now I have cancer,,"and is very, very bad.I wasted nearly 2 hours of my life on this film ... I wish I could have had a 'Lucky Break' and missed it altogether

steventudor The kind of film that does get much of a reaction from you. Some Ok laughs, some ,mildly touching moment and one very sad moment that worked so well thanks to Tim Spall's excellent performance. The acting was very good,the plot was fine, but the script lacked a little sparkle.