We get no real feeling that it knows where it's going, and every good comedy needs a certain headlong conviction.

The Ruling Class is that rarity, a successful, satiric film. No other genre is so plagued by good intentions and regrettable results.

In spots a very amusing and irreverent tongue-in-cheek satire on class that features a tour de force performance by Peter O'Toole.

The plot is convoluted but director Peter Medak makes some good satirical points about the British class system and Peter O'Toole is terrific in a well-deserved Oscar-nominated performance.