Starter For Ten Review

"Starter For Ten" reviews

Movie

Starter For Ten

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-04-02 21:27:38

Rating

4/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Starter for 10 is pure feel-good romantic nostalgia, whether you lived in 1980's London or not.

Story

From the time he was a wee lad, Brian Jackson (James McAvoy) yearned to be on University Challenge, a popular British TV quiz show. He watched the show with his family as a child but never thought of himself as very clever, like his streetwise buddy Spencer (Dominic Cooper). So, when the working class Essex youth is ready to go to college, Brian jumps at the chance of joining the college brainiac team. Even better, Brian finds an added incentive—the sexy and smart team member Alice (Alice Eve). The team is run by a persnickety and uptight geek named Patrick (Benedict Cumberbatch), who makes people take their shoes off before entering his immaculate apartment. But, as a group, they're unstoppable. Along the way, Brian meets some unconventional roommates, including the politically conscious Rebecca (Rebecca Hall), who would rather organize rallies than go to school. Brian's worlds clash when Spencer comes to visit him at college, just before their team goes on the show.

Acting

McAvoy is the unsung hero of The Last King of Scotland, co-starring with Oscar winner Forest Whitaker as the young doctor. He's a fine actor, although you may only recognize him as Mr. Tumnus, the faun from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. As Brian, McAvoy plays the romantic lead well--an affable ordinary guy who remains impossibly tied to his working-class roots. He alternately proud and embarrassed by his mum and her salesman boyfriend, who are in sharp contrast to Alice's more liberal, intellectual—and ultimately nude--parents (played by veteran British actors Lindsay Duncan and Charles Dance). McAvoy's reactions are priceless. Starter for 10 also has a strong supporting cast, even if their characters are a tad one-note at times. Stand out is Hall, who plays Rebecca as a super-smart Annie Hall.

Direction

Newbie director Tom Vaughan has successfully recreated college in the 1980s, even for those people who didn't live it. The clothing, cars, styles are all realistic, charming in that '80s innocence. Particularly fantastic is the New Wave soundtrack which includes Motorhead, Psychedelic Furs and Wham! It's obvious the British director has spent the decade in his hometown, attending Tarts & Vicars parties (where you come dressed up as a prostitute or a priest) and listening to this music. The tender and painful love scenes, such as the New Year's Eve moment between Brian and Rebecca, are directed with lots of humor, as is the inevitable fight scene that breaks out when Brian's worlds collide. Vaughan's sensibility to keep it tongue-in-cheek stops the movie from falling into a silly teen period romance. And although the phrase Starter for 10 is a particularly British expression, the film translates well to a U.S. audience.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 4 stars.

Movie

Starter for Ten

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-11-09 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

James McAvoy ("The Chronicles Of Narnia") stars as Brian, a trivia-obsessed Essex boy who's crossing the class divide by heading off to university in Bristol - much to the concern of the friends he's grown up with ("The History Boys" Dominic Cooper and James Corden). But once he's settled in Brian realises there more to uni life than burying your head in a book so he auditions for the institution's University Challenge team and there meets the beautiful but manipulative Alice (Alice Eve). With a date set for their TV debut, Brian sets out to try and win Alice's heart. However fate and political activist Rebecca (Rebecca Hall) will both play a big part in how he gets on.

Drenched in '80s nostalgia - the tone, music and politics - "Starter For Ten" will certainly strike a chord with anyone who's ever taken the leap and signed up for a university life. From the awkward early days of trying to make friends to surviving the less-than-stellar accommodation, the movie certainly plays up to the stereotype of the impoverished '80s student but underneath is quite a sweet little story. However it fails to really dig deep enough to say anything too meaningful.

McAvoy is suitably wide-eyed and eager in the lead while Eve pouts her way through effortlessly. But the real star turn is from Benedict Cumberbatch as Bristol's obsessive team captain, who's eager to avenge his defeat in the previous year's final while "The League Of Gentlemen's" Mark Gatiss is eerily good as Challenge's host Bamber Gascoinge. But ultimately "Starter For Ten" is pretty lightweight. That's not to say it's not enjoyable but you just feel that director Tom Vaughan should have conferred with the rest of his team before shouting 'Action'.

Movie

Starter For Ten

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-11-03 16:00:30

Provider

Review

David Nicholls' best selling novel about a working class lad's first year at University gets the modern romantic Brit movie treatment and a strong 80's soundtrack.

James McAvoy is Brian Jackson, living in a seaside town with his widowed mother, played by Catherine Tate. Accepted at Bristol, his childhood obsession with facts and University Challenge gets him thrown into a socially and politically active whirlwind plus the chance to try out for Bamber Gascoigne's (this is in the days before Paxman) iconic quiz. Pipped at the post by femme fatale Alice, only an accident to a fellow teammate gets him into the select four. Comedy ensues with run ins with mates from home and a personal wrestle to choose between Alice, the well-heeled blonde, and Rebecca, the politically astute and active brunette. Ultimately, naive blunders and a howler of a mistake at a crucial moment see him heading home with his tail firmly between his legs.

Brian's character has some cloyingly good one-liners and a stand out scene during Christmas spent with Alice at her parents' cottage. The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss is spot on as Bamber plus witty exchanges with his pals from home - History Boys Dominic Cooper and James Corden - means there's plenty to smile about here. However, pedestrian direction makes the whole thing go by nicely in an unchallenging way. The female characters are less filled out or fuelled with quality dialogue than the males, leaving them looking clichéd and whilst accomplished, you get the distinct feeling McAvoy's performance is one of coasting through it all to keep his CV fleshed out.

If you're happy to wile away an hour and half this is an enjoyable diversion, but it struggles compared against other films in the mid-noughties British movie renaissance.