Rita, Sue & Bob Too

Rita, Sue & Bob Too is a controversial comic drama about two adolescent school girls who start seeing a married man with no initial concern for the consequences. Directed by Alan Clarke and written by playwright Andrea Dunbar, the film has 1980s Britain running through it, and boasted the strapline ‘Thatcher’s Britain with her knickers down’. For some it was uncomfortable and for others joyful, but either way, it’s undoubtedly a striking piece of writing and filmmaking.

As part of the BFI’s nationwide Rip It Up season, Birmingham actress and MAC cinema devotee Enva Lewis (How To Have Sex, Your Fault: London) has put together a season of films about the defiance, joy and vulnerability of growing up as a city kid in Britain. 

Enva Lewis on why she chose Rita, Sue & Bob Too - ‘My mom has always had a fantastic habit of recalling incredible films she watched when she was younger and letting me watch them alone. Then rewatching with me and realising they were ridiculously inappropriate for a child! This film always felt so hilariously naughty. And it all came full circle for me when the first line I got to deliver on screen was next to the gorgeous Siobhan Finneran in Alma’s Not Normal. For me this film is such an embodiment of city humour. It’s crude and naughty and straight up, with zero f**ks given. I love it. Dedicated to my mommy and our Clare Crickmore. Never stop being naughty and making each other laugh.’