This film reminds me of a Simpsons episode, when Marge is at a book-club meeting with Helen Fielding.

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. The proliferation of channels has led to fragmentation of the audience and a general shortage of money for quality programs. The unusual chemistry between Margery and Gladys uncovers a trail of mistrust, lies, deceit and extra-marital affairs. The pairing of Penelope Keith and June Brown seemed a bit strange to me, but as there seemed to be nothing else on that night, I watched this, and I'm glad I did.Starring Penelope Keith and June Brown as the title characters, it was produced by Carlton Television for ITV and directed by Geoffrey Sax. Margery and Gladys' is (among other things) an intentional parody of 'Thelma and Louise', with two unlikely matrons as female outlaws. As the police net tightens around them, the two very different, mature ladies are propelled on a shared voyage of self-discovery as skeletons fall from the closets forcing both women to reflect on their past lives. We've all met a lady of the house who thinks she a bit above everyone else (Penelope Keith excels in those roles) and the 'Mrs Mop' types that always seem to get the upper hand in the end. Recently widowed Margery Heywood ( Penelope Keith) and her cleaning woman Gladys Gladwell ( June Brown) disturb a would-be burglar breaking into Margery's house in Kent.

Marge tells her, that she hasn't actually read Bridget Jones' diary, HF replies that it's perfectly OK, as long as they all bought a copy, then leaps out the door in a wild police chase (on foot) in fast-motion accompanied by the music from Benny Hills ditto chases. The music includes two George Formby songs: "Leaning on a Lamp Post" and "My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock," which is a local hard candy.The humour is based around having a a female middle class snob and a very working class woman in the same car when things start to go wrong. Because the intruder was attacked from behind, a controversial court decision found Martin guilty of homicide; he served 18 months in prison before the conviction was changed to manslaughter and he was released with time served. Believing themselves unintentional killers, the two flee in Gladys's old wreck of a car, commencing a journey of comedic misunderstandings in which these two very different ladies embark on a shared voyage of self-discovery. They are forced to break into a pharmacy to obtain insulin for Gladys's diabetes, 'do a runner' from a petrol station and dodge police cameras on the M25.

While her cleaning lady (June Brown) is working one day, they catch a punk in the midst of robbing the house. This was in essence an hour long comedy, but as it was the humour becomes clichéd and the whole thing becomes laboured. Penelope is perfectly cast as Margery, the snobbish wealthy Kent widow, and June Brown as Gladys, her cleaning lady. Although Penelope Keith mentions "the George Formbys," his soundtracks are not used and he gets no screen credit.This British TV movie is a must for fans of classic Britcoms who will recognize Penelope Keith from various TV series. As the women race across the countryside in a beat-up Fiesta, they each learn a whole lot about each other, even though Brown has been Keith's cleaning lady for decades. Unfortunately, towards the end the dialogue gets all 'meaningful' in a manner more typical of American TV scripts.

There are some bizarre incidents, as the two women must commit other crimes to obtain funds and medications. Ms Keith plays Margery, a tetchy suburban matron -- recently widowed -- who attends a Neighbourhood Watch meeting that leaves her paranoid about burglars. They prove to be more than a match for the unlikely pair of policemen, DI Woolley (Roger Lloyd Pack) and DS Stringer (Martin Freeman), who are left to solve the ladies disappearance and puzzling string of crimes which follow.Here, she plays a 60-something widow who lives in a posh neighborhood that has been the target a recent break-ins. Margery is devastated to learn of a twenty-year affair between her late husband and Gladys - and that her son knew of it. When wealthy, recently-widowed suburban housewife, Margery (PENELOPE KEITH), and her ‘rough diamond’ of a cleaner, Gladys (JUNE BROWN), disturb a house burglar, they knock him unconscious, panic and leave him for dead, fleeing in the cleaner’s wrecked old car.