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Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008)
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Movie review
From Time Out London
The latest from Gurinder Chadha, the director of ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ and ‘Bride & Prejudice’ is a coming-of-age drama adapted from the first two novels of British author Louise Rennison, whose ‘Confessions of Georgia Nicholson’ series has been a hit with teenage girls.Its interest is 14-year-old Georgia (played by Georgia Groome, unrecognisable from her turn as the runaway in ‘London to Brighton’), who isn’t the prettiest schoolgirl on her pastel-painted terraced street in Eastbourne, but has at her disposal optimism, friends and a clever line in put-downs. The arrival of modest, ‘fit’ brothers Robbie and Tom (who play in a band called the Stiff Dylans) and occasional, dispassionate ‘snogging’ lessons offer her a welcome dose of escapism. Nevertheless, she still feels charged with keeping together her architect father (Alan Davies), who’s planning to move to New Zealand, and mother (Karen Taylor), who’s taken to preening herself in front of a handsome builder.
Chadha’s skill is catching the nervous mood and buoyant pleasure of those early boy-girl dalliances – the best scenes are those of Georgia and Robbie (a nicely contained Aaron Johnson) talking on the seafront. She’s at ease, too, dealing with the girls’ silly obsessions – lists, grading, outward appearance and social comparisons – and the more serious issues of the functioning of friendships and the forging of self-identity. Sweet and often funny.
Author: Wally Hammond
Time Out London Issue 1979, July 24 - 30, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- katie said...
- Posted on Jul 26 2008 09:42 went 2 c dis film on da first day and it is amazing and really funny.
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- kirsty said...
- Posted on Jul 26 2008 08:30 its only a comedy sure it may have a few rude bits but nothing what would scare her
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- der said...
- Posted on Jul 26 2008 08:28 of course an eight year old cant go and see it is marked as 12a
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- kirsty said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2008 20:55 Probably Yeh :)
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- Rita said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2008 19:55 Can anyone tell me if this is suitable to an 8 yr old girl?
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- Ashley said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2008 19:39 I havnt seen it yet but it looks and sounds amazin and i hope to see it soonnissshhhy!!!!
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- Ashley said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2008 19:38 Havent seen it yet but it looks amazin and i hope to see it soonishhyyy!!!!
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- Louisa said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2008 18:10 Sweet, and heartwarming. Steve jones aint bad either!
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- kirsty said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2008 17:22 amazingly brilliant
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Cast & crew
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Cast: Georgia Groome, Aaron Johnson, Alan Davies full cast
Rated: 12A
Duration: 100 mins
UK Release: Jul 25 2008
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