Film

The Likely Lads

Name: The Likely Lads
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1976
Cast: James Bolam, Rodney Bewes, Brigit Forsyth, Mary Tamm, Sheila Fearn

Other titles called The Likely Lads: the 1964 series (BBC Two).

Comedy
Light-hearted

The Likely Lads is a spin-off film from the beloved British sitcom, transplanting two ageing Newcastle lads into the messy reality of actual relationships. It's warmly funny without being precious, full of the kind of squirming social discomfort that makes British comedy so satisfying. For anyone who loves character-driven humour and the particular comedy of men bewildered by domesticity.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy gently barbed British comedy about old friends who bicker their way through social awkwardness, where the jokes come from character rather than contraptions.

Skip it if you need fast gags or a tightly built plot; this is loose and episodic, and its 1970s attitudes toward women may grate.

What it asks of you: Ninety minutes at an unhurried pace, with the humour sitting in awkward pauses and small talk rather than set-piece punchlines, so settle in and let the slow embarrassments land.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Withnail & I1987

Two unemployed men drift through London in a haze of complaint and catastrophe. It has the same DNA as The Likely Lads—affection for its leads despite their selfishness, genuine laughs from character interaction, and the bittersweet recognition that real life is messier than fantasy.

But It's deliberately static and plotless, more interested in mood and dialogue than story momentum. If you need things to happen, you'll find it frustrating.

Steptoe & Son1972

Another British comedy about two men stuck in a relationship they can't escape, bickering their way through life in a junkyard. The same blend of warmth and exasperation, with dialogue that's genuinely sharp without being arch.

But It's rooted in the miserable messiness of their lives rather than spectacle. The tone is quietly melancholic under the jokes, which isn't everyone's cup of tea.

The Good Life1975

A couple attempts self-sufficiency in suburban Surrey while their neighbours watch in horrified fascination. It shares The Likely Lads' interest in how people behave when pushed slightly outside their comfort zones, with excellent ensemble work.

But It veers toward sentimentality in places, and the central premise is more conceptual than character-driven, which some find less involving than pure comedy.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Likely Lads

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Duel1971

Both film and TV series use male characters' fumbling incompetence as their emotional core, but Duel removes the laughs and shows you what masculine humiliation actually looks like.

A man in a sedan is terrorised by a faceless truck driver on a desert highway. Spielberg's debut is relentless tension, but it's actually about the same thing as The Likely Lads: masculine pride making people do stupid things, competence cracks under pressure, the ordinary male ego as the real villain.

But It's an entirely different register—paranoid thriller rather than comedy—and demands to be taken seriously. Approaching it expecting laughs will wreck it.

Last of the Summer Wine1973

Three Yorkshire pensioners spend their days getting into gentle chaos. It's similarly affectionate about its leads' refusal to grow up, with the same blend of camaraderie and competence-free scheming.

But Runs for decades and loses energy. The early episodes are much sharper; watching it demands selectivity.

A Fish Called Wanda1988

A caper comedy about four criminals with entirely wrong personalities for heists. More polished and plot-driven than The Likely Lads, but shares that deadpan British comedy sensibility and character-based humour.

But Much slicker and American in tone—less interested in social embarrassment and more interested in jokes landing cleanly.

Breakfast on Pluto2005

A picaresque film about a young drifter navigating chaos with surprising warmth. It has that same slightly wobbly affection for people trying to get through life, with a generosity of spirit toward its mess-making leads.

But It's much more serious in intent and darker in execution. The comedy emerges from a much more troubled place than sitcom comfort.

The Party1968

Peter Sellers as a man catastrophically out of place at a Hollywood party. It's pure silent-film physics applied to modern social discomfort—the exact frequency of embarrassment that The Likely Lads runs on, just without dialogue.

But Almost entirely visual gags. If you want character and chat, you'll find it sparse and sometimes tedious.

Under Milk Wood1972

A filmed version of Dylan Thomas's play about a Welsh village, full of small characters with big inner lives. It's British, ensemble-based comedy-drama about ordinary people in intimate community, with similar warmth and forgiveness.

But It's languid and poetic rather than comedic. The structure is loose and the pace glacial, which exhausts some viewers.

Stalker1979

Both centre on male characters unable to get what they actually want, trapped in patterns of wanting. One is comedy about it; one is metaphysical despair. Same skeleton, opposite register.

Tarkovsky's science-fiction meditation on desire and regret, following three men through a mysterious zone toward a room that grants wishes. Glacially paced, hypnotic, profoundly strange—but it examines why men pursue things that don't satisfy them with uncanny precision.

But 230 minutes of slow cinema with minimal plot. It requires complete patience and rewards contemplation, not entertainment. Most people find it maddening.

Network1976

Both films grapple with men confronting a changing Britain where their old ways don't fit anymore, but Network sees it as tragedy and corruption, while The Likely Lads sees it as the poignant truth of growing up.

A vicious satire on television and ego, as a deranged news anchorman becomes a ratings phenomenon. The same year as The Likely Lads, same national anxiety about change, but weaponised—it's what happens when you remove the affection and replace it with rage at obsolescence.

But Extremely loud, unsubtle, and creatively furious. It's cynical in a way that reads as exhausting to some, with little warmth anywhere in its frame.