A sweet, funny nostalgia trip back to the '80s for the anglophile in all of us
Starter for 10 commits many of the carnal sins as far as American moviegoers go--it has an unknown director, no big name actors, uses voice over, and it's title doesn't appear to make any sense. And yet, as the Brits would say, it's brilliant.
British high school student Brian Jackson (James McAvoy) has grown up in working-class Essex with a penchant for the TV show University Challenge--sort of like the English version of Jeopardy, but much harder and featuring teams of nerdy college students as the competitors. When he heads off to his first year of college at Bristol University, he promptly tries out for their University Challenge team. And as if a lifelong love of the show isn't enough incentive to make the team, the possibility of getting to spend time with the gorgeous Alice Harbinson (Alice Eve) puts him over the edge. But is it her he wants, or the mysterious feminist Rebecca Epstein (Rebecca Hall), whom he meets at his first college party?
Starter for 10 is a coming-of-age romantic comedy that manages to defy the odds--sticking well enough to formula to work while managing to be sweet, tender, and even surprising at times. But calling it a romantic comedy is almost a misnomer--Starter for 10 has much more delicate sensibilities than one usually expects in its big, bold-colored American counterparts. It feels small and personal, likely because the screenplay was adapted by British author David Nicholls from his book of the same name. And he and the movie's director Tom Vaughan went to--where else--Bristol University together. It even manages to do the 1980s--a period not known for subtlety--without succumbing to the temptation to go over the top.
The atmospheric nature of the movie is only boosted by its amazing soundtrack--not what one would expect from a lower-budget production. But The Cure's lead singer Robert Smith was so taken with both the film and the book that he offered up five Cure songs for the soundtrack. And they in turn paved the way for other recognizable songs by major 80s bands The Buzzcocks, The Smiths, Tears For Fears, and others. As a result, Starter for 10 not only avoids the horrible music trap from which many similar movies suffer, but the songs just make the trip back in time that much more belieavable and enjoyable.
Nicholls' script is smart and witty, and is deftly handled by the well-cast actors. James McAvoy (The Last King of Scotland, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) gives character of Brian a tremendously endearing humility and vulnerability, the depth of which one doesn't normally encounter in a comedy. Who can't identify with his freshman romantic founderings? Alice Eve (Stage Beauty) is the ultimate buxom blonde, Rebecca Hall (The Prestige) shows you the appealing side of the angry activist archetype, and Benedict Cumberbatch (Amazing Grace) is perfect as Patrick, the poncey prat that coaches the University Challenge team.
The result is an intimate, well-written love song to Nicholls' and Vaughan's past. And yet, it feels like it was your past, as well. Starter for 10 is only opening in limited release this weekend. But if you get the chance, I highly suggest you go along for the ride.
ReelzChannel Rating: 