Can You Keep It Up for a Week?

1974 British film directed by Jim Atkinson

Can You Keep It Up For A Week?

Directed by	Jim Atkinson
Written by	Robin Gough
Starring	Jeremy Bulloch Neil Hallett Jill Damas Sue Longhurst Richard O'Sullivan Valerie Leon
Cinematography	Ricky Briggs
Edited by	David Docker
Music by	Dave Quincy
Production company	Pyramid Films
Release date	1974
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Can You Keep It Up For A Week? is a 1974 British sex comedy film directed by Jim Atkinson and starring Jeremy Bulloch, Sue Longhurst, Neil Hallett, Richard O'Sullivan and Valerie Leon.^[1]

Plot

Accident-prone Gil wants a steady job but is dismissed by every company that recruits him due to his unfortunate habit of ending up in sexually embarrassing situations. His girlfriend Annette says that she will marry him only if he can stay employed for at least a week. Hired by Mr Grimwood's cleaning company "Here To Service You", Gil is unwittingly drawn into a series of bawdy misadventures: sharing a bath with a married woman and getting caught by her husband; having a threesome with a hospital patient and a woman doctor, followed by a foursome with Annette, Grimwood and a woman psychologist; awkward encounters with a gay man and a lesbian; and getting caught by Annette playing strip poker with a group of women. Incredibly, Gil remains in his job, so Annette asks Grimwood to fire him, not knowing that Gil's employer wants to seduce her himself. Gil foils this plot and Annette marries him, but before the couple can have their wedding night Gil collapses on the bed and passes out from exhaustion.

Cast

Jeremy Bulloch as Gil
Sue Longhurst as Mrs Bristol
Neil Hallett as Gerry Grimwood
Richard O'Sullivan as Mr Rose
Valerie Leon as Miss Hampton
Jill Damas as Annette
Olivia Munday as Mrs Hobson
Mark Singleton as Mr Hobson
Joy Harington as Mrs Grimwood
Jenny Cox as Dr Livingstone
Venicia Day as Sue Anne Stanley
Stephanie Marrian as Lesley
Wendy Wax as Baby Doll
Sarah Frampton as Pam
Lindsay Marsh as Gigi
Maria Coyne as receptionist
Lynne Ross as secretary
Valerie Phillips as mechanic
Frances Bennett as lady driver
Sally Harrison as car wash customer
Sally Lahee as Madam Chairman
Richard Smith as applicant
Bridget McConnell as secretary
Roy Beck as sailor
Nicholas McArdle as The D.O.G.
Jules Walters as John Thomas
Eddie Sommer as male streaker
Mandy Morris as female streaker

Critical reception

Writing for The Monthly Film Bulletin, David McGillivray listed the film's "fundamental deficiencies" as "dreary sexual encounters, rudimentary direction and 94 minutes of witless Old English puns (the title is a fair example)." He likened the "episodic" plot to those of other sex comedies Secrets of a Door-to-Door Salesman (1973) and Confessions of a Window Cleaner (1974).^[2]

References

^ "Can You Keep It Up for a Week?". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^ McGillivray, David (December 1974). "Can You Keep It Up For A Week?". The Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 41, no. 491. London, UK: British Film Institute. p. 270. ISSN 0027-0407. OCLC 2594020.