Three Day Millionaire

Very much in the spirit of Brassed Off, Three Day Millionaire pitches old traditional industries (in this case fishing) against the establishment, here with the prospect of closure in favour of new development. Along with the social issues of a city seemingly dependent of an industry coming to terms with an almost irreversible change of fortune and attitude.

Curly (James Burrows) is a trawlerman through and through and by breaking the fourth wall introduces the viewer to his colleague Budgie (Sam Glen), friends Codge (Michael Kinsey) and Wheezy (Robbie Gee). Then peripherals such as boss/owner Mr Barr (Colm Meaney) and councilman Mr Graham (Jonas Armstrong). There’s also some female interest with Barr’s assistant Gilly (Lauren Foster), Demi (Melissa Batchelor), and Queenie (Grace Long).

The wind is blowing against the traditional industry and Barr is ready to sell his interests to developers looking to introduce a café culture and the like to Grimsby. There’s still some optimism that investment will come into the town and save the industry. But with employees given redundancy notices it appears all on offer will be barista and server jobs. So a plan is hatched to steal Barr’s ill-gotten hard cash to set up another fishery elsewhere.

Director Jack Spring and writer Paul Stephenson aren’t reinventing the wheel here with cliched characters all over the place: cocky, sneaky, bully, glamy and thicky etc. And the story and plot aren’t going to confuse anyone being very straightforward.

But despite an at times wobbly script that maybe once too often spills into purple prose and author intrusion, the cast make a good fist of it. And its due to them that it works as well as it does, with breezy, easy going performances. There’s a contrived roguish scamp appeal about the robbers, and the Colm Meany big villain type isn’t really that much of one.

There is a harder social and possibly political edge here that while it focuses on the fishing industry could well apply to any other community or town that has seen a once dominant industry decline with little worthwhile to take its place. It also provides some insight into the dangers of letting things take their course as with the character of Codge virtually giving up and descending into drugs, having become totally disillusioned with Grimsby and being a trawler.

Three Day Millionaire will be available on-demand and digital from 21 February 2023.