For this week’s overlooked selection, I have chosen a film from 2007 – Tom Vaughan’s Starter for Ten. The screenplay is adapted by David Nicholls, who also wrote the novel.
- It is a lighthearted coming of age story
- It is set in the mid-1980’s in Thatcher’s Great Britain
- It has an awesome cast: James McAvoy, Dominic Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, Rebecca Hall and a well-played Catherine Tate.
- The soundtrack is equally awesome and is currently in rotation on my iPod
If you are from the States like me, you may have to look past the rather obscure title (I have since figured out what it means). I suspect in many circles the title did not do it any great favors in broadening its appeal. This despite the fact that Tom Hanks is one of the producers of the film.
Here is the U.S. trailer:
Unfortunately the voice over in this trailer is rather annoying and it is obvious to that the film was marketed to the American audience with a strong “rom-com” emphasis. Of course, these are some of the thematic elements which run through the film, but this is not a fair or complete representation of the film. Take a look and judge it for yourself.
Todd Mason says
May 31, 2011 at 9:29 amI certainly enjoyed it when I caught it on cable last year.
iluvcinema says
May 31, 2011 at 9:43 am@Todd – If you blink you will miss when it is on cable, but I do remember HBO showing it a while ago… I checked to see if it was streaming on Netflix but no luck (DVD only)
ruth says
June 2, 2011 at 3:01 pmOoooh thanks for reminding me, I’ve been meaning to check this one out as it stars James McAvoy. Benedict is here as well? Even better!
iluvcinema says
June 2, 2011 at 3:18 pm@ruth I really like Benedict Cumberbath. And he is going to be in The Hobbit too 🙂
As for “Starter” you are in for a real treat. And (like I said) awesome 80’s soundtrack!
ruth says
June 3, 2011 at 6:50 amYeah, The Hobbit has an AMAZING cast, I mean just astounding the amount of great actors involved in that one.
Oh, HAPPY BIRTHDAY btw, I heard over at AM that it’s your b’day today. So you share the same b’day as James Purefoy, today I have a b’day tribute to him from my guest blogger.
Many happy returns to you and thanks for adding me to your blogroll.
iluvcinema says
June 3, 2011 at 7:17 amThanks Ruth. Will take a moment to read the b-day tribute on your site.
RE: Hobbit casting – I have liked all of the choices, less Orlando Bloom. Not that I dislike it as such, I guess it is more that I do not think it is necessary.
No worries … that was my way of saying thanks for you adding me to yours. I definitely need to be more proactive about adding people to my roll.
Todd Mason says
June 3, 2011 at 4:56 pmAnd thanks for putting me on your roll, as well. I, too, need to add some folks’, including this one.
iluvcinema says
June 3, 2011 at 6:28 pm@Todd. No worries. Have a good weekend!
Anna says
June 5, 2011 at 3:54 amI thought this was rather cute, mostly due to McAvoy and my addiction to the UK University Challenge haha.
Realized I don’t have you on my blogroll, so added you to keep up with your posts!
iluvcinema says
June 5, 2011 at 6:59 amThanks Anna!