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My Last Five Girlfriends (2009)

Director: Julian Kemp

Time Out rating

Average user rating

3 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

This Brit romcom has been described as ‘very funny’ and ‘flimsy’ – and both are kinda right. Loosely based on Alain de Botton’s ‘Essays in Love’, it stars the underqualified Brendan Patricks (‘Horne & Corden’) as loser-in-love Duncan. While unconvincingly contemplating suicide, Duncan recalls his past five relationships with unfeasibly attractive women in busy, self-consciously quirky flashbacks.

There are bad actors here , and there are great actors – Naomie Harris and Michael Sheen appear alongside evident newbies. Some ideas are inventive – Duncan runs through the odds of meeting his first girlfriend in amusing detail – while others feel lazy and clichéd. There’s a steady trickle of fun character observations, but a lack of detail and depth. The film feels a bit like a funny friend who talks too much – sometimes they’re amusing; sometimes you wish they’d shut up. Those willing to overlook the cracks in performances and plot should enjoy it, but they may also wish to revisit ‘High Fidelity’ to see how it’s really done.

Author: Anna Smith

Time Out London Issue 2065: 18-24 March, 2010

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User reviews of this film

philmk said...

Posted on Mar 23 2010 15:18 I found it difficult to like any of the yuppie characters in this film. The CGI surrealism was slightly more interesting.

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Henry Abbott said...

Posted on Mar 22 2010 11:52 Excellent film, not the best I'll ever see but by no means the worst and I think that the reviewer has maybe missed the point of it, hard I know with a rom-com but seemingly they have. It is a unique look at the genre and at love with some truthful performances and Mr. Patricks carrying the film well.
Not sure why Miss Smith felt the need to knock the acting talent in it, such is the reviewers lot I suppose and one gets the feeling that this movie would have been better appreciated in the US market, rather than the self-critical UK one, where critics struggle to cope without already famous actors to hold their hands and expect any new faces to be immediately out of this world.
A good British film that needs supporting and look out for the excellent elephant.

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Bristol Brian said...

Posted on Mar 10 2010 12:10 I saw this film at the Edingburgh film festival and throughly enjoyed it. It was totally different from what I was expecting (not a chick flick) and plenty of helpful insights into the guys behaviour within a relationship - ha ha. The first 15 mins are a little slow as the format is established - very unusual and surprising, but it soon whizzes along and the leading man's strange internal world unfolds in a very uniqe way. Can't give too much away but it's an execellent date movie for those bored of the usual American fare.

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