Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story

What do you get when you try to adapt the unfilmable book, and place that movie within a movie about making the movie? You get Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story. This movie, directed by Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Part People), and starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon in the co-lead, delves into only the first two or three of nine volumes of the original published novel, but keeps the spirit alive during the entire movie.

The movie opens on an improvised conversation between Coogan and Brydon as they sit in make-up. They argue about (among other things) who is indeed the leading man, and teeth color. Coogan, who plays both Tristram Shandy himself, and his father- Walter Shandy, narrates the story, and takes us through his life. He does a fantastic job in both roles, as does Brydon, who plays the eccentric Toby Shandy.

What makes this story unfilmable is that it's simply a massive collection of stories with intertwining characters- with Shandy narrating them. In the novel, he has a habit of not being able to tell a story without digressing on a number of tangents. This is illustrated in the movie by that fact that the first half-hour passes without Tristram even being born. This sections is brilliantly presented non-linearly, following one story up to the point of his birth, before backtracking to follow another story line.

The rest of the movie involves the making of the movie (which is actually fictitiously portrayed). Coogan tries to balance his schedule with his girlfriend Jenny (Kelly McDonald) and child. He obsesses about the smallest details that essentially feed his ego, and argues with Brydon about everything. The crew is filled out by Jennie (Naomie Harris), Coogan's assistant, and possibly the smartest person in the movie. There are also producers, prop-masters, and a moderately crazy military advisor. All these people wrestle with budget problems, issues adapting an insurmountable book.

Even though less than half of the movie actually follows the book, the idea of a narrator revealing the the stories of those around him carries over. Coogan functions as the glue that binds the characters making the movie. I still feel that my favorite part was the first act that actually told the Tristram Shandy story. I almost wish they had continued on that story, and stayed within the movie, instead of entering the fictionalized making of. Even though the last half was indeed entertaining and enjoyable in its own right, I feel that this could have been done with any movie, and kind of detracted from the genius of the story.

The cast is fantastic (both within the movie, and in the making of), and the story is a fantastic one. I'm conflicted between what the movie is, and what I would have liked it to be. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but still feel that it could have been even more wonderful. In the end, I suppose I should rate this on its own merit, and not what it may have been.

4/5