Sadly Comfort and Joy would be Bill Forsyth's last Scottish film before embarking upon an ill-fated period of working in America, and finally returning with Gregory's 2 Girls in 1999. His fourth film is a comedic fictionalisation of Glasgow's infamous Ice Cream Wars, a turf war which took place in the city in the early 80s between rival criminal organisations who were using ice cream vans as a cover for drug dealing and racketeering. Bill Patterson plays Allan "Dickie" Bird a radio DJ who gets drawn into the turf war by complete chance. Though the term "Ice Cream Wars" can't help but evoke a comical response the actual events that the film drew inspiration for were noted for their brutality, most significantly the murder by arson of six members of the same family. The public outcry at Strathclyde Police's ineptitude in controlling the situation led to one Glaswegian wag dubbing them the "Serious Chimes Squad".
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