Tamara Drewe ****

Imagine this: An elegant picturesque countryside, birds singing, home-made scones and cookies with floral dresses and welly boots as the main attire. Now add f**k and a sexy lead in hot pants and this is what Tamara Drewe provides you with. It's a fun loving summer flick with such charm and charisma that all you do is come out wanting some cream tea.

Directed by the veteran of filming Stephen Frears, this quaint lifestyle with a twist screams ideal Britain. From the start we're in tears of laughter as arguable the most compelling character Jody (Jessica Barden) raises the bench mark of expectation for humour and carries it through with her foul mouthed rants and ludicrous scenes of desire. Bare in mind, she is 15 so it's all very tongue in cheek. With other characters being introduced all as eccentric as the last, the casting is a dream and fails to provide even one badly written personality.

Tamara Drewe played by the gorgeous Gemma Arterton is a delight to watch. She's a 21st Century Girl who's turned from ugly duckling to stunning swan in a matter of years thanks to a nose job. This joke is a common factor holding the plot together, so you can begin to see why this film is as irregular for comedy compared to other similar British films. Along with her, Dominic Cooper plays an Indie Rockband Drummer, Ben, who wears eyeliner and speaks all cockney. With these two characters invading this idyllic village the torment they go through is incredibly funny.

Gemma manages to keep the audience glued to the screen, whilst Dominic shows a different side of his acting. He's used to playing the most attractive on set and this is no different, but with a more dirty, gritty personality he's almost irresistable. Plus, the way they play off each other is so exciting to watch you're almost jealous as it's something you'd love to happen to yourself.

But it's the actual villagers that offer the heart-warming tale that provides the added dimension of storytelling this film brings. Tamsin Greig (Beth) provides this sense of vulnerability to her role as the timid housewife. Roger Allam (Nicholas) plays the seedy, perverted staring through a window at someone man, who actually made me say allowed "What a d**k". And Luke Evans (Andy) is the guy next door kind of man. You really have a match made in heaven with the types of people on screen.

The story is a peculiar one. Essentially it's a romantic comedy, but just as British films like to do, it's got this added realism that separates it from the predictable Hollywood scripts we're so often forced to watch because it's got Jennifer Aniston or Katherine Heigl in. The fact that this film was adapted from a weekly comic strip in the Guaridan written by Posy Simmonds provides a raw look at woman who are open about their sexuality. The swearing, the innuendos and the need for Arterton to be naked a lot actually works very well. It's not done voyeuristically and sticks out like a swore thumb, it fits in perfectly to the story as we're looking at real people, not a glamorised ideal person.

There are a few points where the plot seems to be a little unstable, and you're left wondering what the film is really about, but I think this just adds to the fascination of it all. You never really can imagine what's going to happen. It's got twists that you would have never of seen coming from such a pretty film. This just adds to the comedy factor and really will leave you shocked and surprised at the level of laughter you seem to produce.

This is such a fun, free loving British summer film that you really must watch it. The cast a great, the story is well more than original and the whole outcome is very satisfying.

Kelly's Filmy Things #3

"The Day Lee Nelson Hit On Me."

So, the title doesn't seem very film related, and nor is this blog really but I do plan on providing you with at least one filmy thing in this, but mainly this is based on the eventful day I spent in London with Ben Mortimer, journalist by day, creepy ass clown by night.

I came up with a couple of blog ideas on the train (including one on preparing you for the Christmas releases - It's September, I'm allowed to mention the C word)and then we met in Soho, my 2nd home for 6 months on my gap year. I always find it weird walking around there as I used to spend so much time on runs for a post-production company, fetching lunches and tapes, that I never really got to take any of it in. Now, whenever I'm there I feel almost a sense of anxiousness and excitement - Mainly what I lived off of when running was my job.

A joke Ben and I have is that we've got a Haribo engagement so after saying hello, he pulled out a gumy ring! What do you think?



And after receiving a fetching packet of Jammy Dodgers because they are the coolest biscuits, we made our way to the Curzon to watch Tamara Drewe. But it turns out London doesn't like to show the film after realising it wasn't there, or at the Cineworld either. Luckily, Odeon in Leicester Square seemed to only be showing it so we ventured in there.

If you're a film geek, definitely go with another film geek to the cinema. You can piss about whilst the adverts are on, and then guess what film the trailers are showing. I finally saw the new Harry Potter trailer which turned me into the 11 year old I was when it first came to our screens. Can't wait to see Voldemort and Ronald again! And Tamara Drewe was such a fun, free loving British film. I really suggest it to extend the summer out a little bit longer.

After this we roamed around London discovering all sorts of new places, and whilst sitting in Starbucks, as that is what you do in London Ben points out, he receives an email saying Lee Nelson is doing a secret stand up gig in Camden. So obviously we have to go see this up and coming comedian in a small room.

It started by having the compare say I was sexually frustrated (He came to this conclusion because I was hugging a pillow that was on the sofa, meaning I was looking for attention... Hmm) and then Ben thought it would be a good idea to sit right at the front of Lee Nelson's set. So, here we go...
"Did you know there's a party... And it's in my pants... And you're on the guestlist." That was just warming me up for the next couple of lines he thought would be fun to use on me.

After half an hour of some class comedy from him, and me feeling completely embarrassed he ended the show with this:
"Do you give hand jobs to strangers?" to which I replied "Sometimes" and then he said with a baffled look on his face "I've been Lee Nelson, thank you" - Ha. I don't, just in case I need to confirm that as a joke also.

So, we were pretty tired by the end of all this and decided to call it a night. We went our separate ways, and after reading texts from Ben making me laugh like a lonely lunatic on the train and sitting opposite two of the most vile men on Earth who seem to only know the words f**k and c**t, I came home. This is what my bag looked like afterwards, it made me laugh: