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Bookmark this pageSon of Rambow (2007)
Director: Garth Jennings
Movie review
From Time Out London
Garth Jennings’s last film, ‘The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, had visual imagination to burn, but was less sure-footed when it came to plot and character. It’s a pleasure, then, to find that his follow-up shows just as much wit and verve in its production design, while also succeeding as storytelling: ‘Son of Rambow’ is a schoolboy yarn with a bracing emotional honestythat packs a real kick.
Jennings takes us to the early ’80s Home Counties suburbia of his youth for the story of two mismatched pre-teens. Will (Bill Milner) is the sheltered son of a strict religious family, whose father has died in the Falklands and has never even watched TV; Lee (Will Poulter) is the tougher wide-boy, a latchkey kid who bullies and then befriends Will as they embark on a homemade VHS opus, after seeing a pirate copy of ‘First Blood’.
Meanwhile, a group of French exchange students descend on the school, including one particular guy who constitutes a New Wave all of his own. Will is a keen doodler, and his sketches burst out across the countryside in playful CGI, but there’s also great entertainment in the boys’ lo-tech Heath-Robinson production plans.
Backyard remakes are very much of the moment – think Michel Gondry’s ‘Be Kind Rewind’ – but ‘Son of Rambow’ integrates its slapstick genre pastiche into a thoughtful story about peer pressure, neglect and yearning. Both Milner and Poulter are terrific; their performances, along with a keen eye for the indignities of the playground, help keep things the right side of sentimentality.
Author: Ben Walters
Time Out London Issue 1963 – April 3 – 9
User reviews of this film
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- Chris said...
- Posted on Nov 07 2009 13:05 This film is the funniest I've seen in a long time. It isn't obvious, in your face pie-in-face comedy - it's much more genuine and funnier as a result. The French kid in particular made me crease. Go watch this film.
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- Adam said...
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Posted on Jun 29 2009 14:30
Film was great! But ateeq ali...
Ateeq Ali is a .................. - Report as inappropriate
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- Karan Dhimar said...
- Posted on Jun 29 2009 14:29 That was some brappage
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- Joe said...
- Posted on Jun 29 2009 14:29 RACISM.
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- Adam said...
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Posted on Jun 29 2009 14:28
Tank trouble Or Boxhead?
Hard choice! - Report as inappropriate
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- ATEEQ ALI said...
- Posted on Jun 29 2009 14:27 JOE IS GETTING MIXED UP IT WERNT THAT GOOD
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- Joe said...
- Posted on Jun 29 2009 14:24 Great film, made me laugh loads. =0
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- bob said...
- Posted on Jun 01 2009 16:21 boring boring boring, this is an absulute discrace of a film that is so boring, pointless and frustrating. i absolutly loathed it and for me it has to be 'the worst film of all time'
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- Monikka said...
- Posted on Mar 29 2009 07:53 I loved it. Its a good change from the stupid mall cop movie my friends dragged me to.
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- Nikki Murphy said...
- Posted on Aug 26 2008 22:45 Rubbish. Didn't laugh once. Kids frightened to death after almost watching a child drown in oil. So much for comedy!
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- shane said...
- Posted on Jul 15 2008 22:41 im going to see this film just because some film critic who cant spell said not too.
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- dottie said...
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Posted on Jun 02 2008 16:45
I thought this film was excellent. The kids' performances were touching, and I found myself laughing out loud several times :D I like American films as well as British ones, but it was nice to see a film about school kids which wasn't set in America, very refreshing.
Just a note though, to usman khawaja - the british countryside CAN look glorious in summer, but the England I live in has a lot of overcast days as well (probably MORE overcast days than sunny ones) - I wouldn't say that the countryside not being perfect is a fault of the film. It's more like an accurate representation of Britain. It doesn't all look like a postcard :) - Report as inappropriate
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- apple said...
- Posted on May 29 2008 17:02 I thought it was brilliant. I think its been pulled from the cineam though! It was funny, sweet and really charming! I would say 4 out of 5 stars. I would see it again!
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- Pippa said...
- Posted on May 05 2008 14:41 A sweet, and in places sad, well-directed and well-acted film, just manages to stay clear of sentimentality. Some nice eighties references for old folks like me :-). But definitely not an action movie!
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- Carly said...
- Posted on May 05 2008 11:17 For god's sake, learn how to spell, its kinda funny that all the good comments are by people who know how to spell, and all the bad are by people who cant even spell cinema right.
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Cast & crew
Director: Garth Jennings
Cast: Bill Milner, Will Poulter, Jules Sitruk, Jessica Stevenson, Zofia Brooks, Neil Dudgeon, Tallulah Evans, Adam Godley, Jessica Hynes full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Rated: 12A
Duration: 95 mins
UK Release: Apr 4 2008
US Release: Apr 4 2008
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