Educating Rita is the story of a Cockney hairdresser, Rita (played by Julie Walters), who wants more out of life than attempting to make middle-aged matrons look like Princess Di (this movie was done in the 80s). So she enrolls for tutoring at the local august university. Rita's assigned tutor is a washed up, alcoholic English professor, Frank (played by Michael Caine), who wants nothing to do with teaching any more. Rita demands that he teach her and thus the adventure begins.
This gem of a film wasn't available in DVD until recently. So when I discovered it was offered on Amazon, I grabbed it. It is a charming story of how this diffident yet bright and persistent gal struggles to read and write critically, to find a new life of the mind, and to feel "good enough," ie, equal to the other university students for whom a good education is birthright. Along the way, Rita encounters vexing obstacles, not the least of which is her boozy tutor. In less capable hands, this film could have been saccharine, content-light drivel (ie, the typical Hollywood dramedy) or at least sickeningly sentimental, but with a really good script and superb performances by Caine and Walters, it truly warms the cockles of the heart. And it's not strictly a chick flick, DH Jeff liked it too.
What's more, you can get it for a song, so why not treat yourself?
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