Why oh why does British cinema persist time and time again with the same formula? 1. Grab a handful of ubiquitous British actors/comedians -in this case James McAvoy, Catherine Tate, Charles Dance, Mark Gatiss and more. 2. Find a 'quirky' subject on which to hang a romantic comedy, in this case that great British favourite University Challenge. 3. Add every kind of possible cliché you can - gawky student falls for pretty girl but ends up with nice one, said student neglects his studies, acts like a prat in rejecting his true mates from back home but ends up coming to his senses in a life-affirming finale. 4. Add a very unsubtle theme about either race or class. In this film our 'hero' is the Essex son of a single mother and his friend back home is unemployed, in trouble with the police but is still rooting for him to succeed at Uni. How sweet. 5. Add an awkward sex scene for light relief. 6. Set it in the past. Any decade is fine, with a particular penchant for the 70s, 80s (as in this film and countless others where Thatcherism looms in the background) or the 19th century.
What I find extraordinary is that British critics berate Hollywood for coming up with clichéd blockbusters yet our film industry persists in churning out the same bittersweet feel-good romantic comedies. James McAvoy (as always) makes a horribly conceited, unappealing lead character but I have to say that my reason for despising every second of this atrocious film had less to do with him and more to do with the comatosed script and direction which contained not an ounce of either soul or originality.
What I find extraordinary is that British critics berate Hollywood for coming up with clichéd blockbusters yet our film industry persists in churning out the same bittersweet feel-good romantic comedies. James McAvoy (as always) makes a horribly conceited, unappealing lead character but I have to say that my reason for despising every second of this atrocious film had less to do with him and more to do with the comatosed script and direction which contained not an ounce of either soul or originality.