Overview
A comedic exploration of the chaos behind the scenes of filmmaking, where egos clash and narratives unravel.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- witty
- irreverent
- playful
- cinephile movie night
- literary adaptation double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a witty, postmodern, and highly entertaining adaptation powered by Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's madcap performances.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The adaptation repeatedly moves between Tristram Shandy scenes and the actors' behind-the-scenes lives, including shooting, reshooting, and abandoning material.
Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon shift among their real personas, their Shandy characters, and performers within the film project.
The film foregrounds Tristram Shandy's interruptions and the impossibility of containing an amorphous life in one coherent narrative.
The plot repeatedly returns to the size of parts, egos, shoes, noses, cocks, and bulls as sources of status anxiety and absurdity.
Films like A Cock and Bull Story, and why
Adaptation.
meta-cinematic comedy, actorly self-parody, and playful disruption of narrative form
Living in Oblivion
postmodern filmmaking satire, fictionalized performers, and comic tension between art and production
The French Lieutenant's Woman
literary adaptation turned into an eccentric, self-conscious comedy about storytelling and identity
The History Boys
British literary wit, fragmented storytelling, and comic examination of authorship and family
Movie Details
- Director
- Michael Winterbottom
- Release Date
- 2005-07-17
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (157)
Cast
- Steve Coogan
- Rob Brydon
- Keeley Hawes
- Shirley Henderson
- Raymond Waring
- Conal Murphy
- Joe Williams
- Paul Kynman
- Mark Tandy
- Dylan Moran
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is A Cock and Bull Story about?
- A playful British meta-comedy where actors, characters, lovers, and production chaos collide while trying to film Laurence Sterne's supposedly unfilmable novel.
- What is A Cock and Bull Story like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Cock and Bull Story as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is A Cock and Bull Story violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in A Cock and Bull Story.
- What did critics think of A Cock and Bull Story?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a witty, postmodern, and highly entertaining adaptation powered by Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's madcap performances.
- Which films are like A Cock and Bull Story?
- Films with a similar feel include Adaptation., Living in Oblivion, The French Lieutenant's Woman, and The History Boys.
- How long is A Cock and Bull Story?
- A Cock and Bull Story runs 94 minutes.
- Where can I watch A Cock and Bull Story?
- In United States, A Cock and Bull Story is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube.
