Since the demise of the Children's Film Foundation there's been a lack of kid-friendly British movies. This undemanding but fun flick fills that gap, based as it is on the true tale of Captain Jack Lammiman who set sail to the Arctic with a raggle-taggle crew.
The crew in Jack Rosenthal's version includes Anna Massey and Gemma Jones as two warring sisters; Sadie Frost as a sex-mad ex-chip shop employee; and David Troughton as a brow-beaten husband longing for escape. The silent Troughton and the crass captain (Bob Hoskins) then vie for the children's attention: Troughton wins the sympathy vote and most of the laughs while Hoskins' use of the word "bloody" guarantees sniggers every time. Only McDonald flounders: if you saw him in the excellent I Went Down, you'll cringe at his Aussie accent and supposedly worldly-wise character in this.
