Movie Review - The Inbetweeners

[CK]

I'll qualify this early - I have been a massive fan of the series from day one in the UK, bought the DVD's before the series was shown in Australia, and have been waiting for this enormously for months, so had very high expectations.

Overall, a disappointment. At 97 minutes, the movie needs a tougher director to make edits - it runs at least 25 minutes too long and has very lengthy flat spots. I went with another huge fan of the show, and in a cinema packed with the target audience, and the movie starts very promisingly. The basic plot is the four boys - Simon, Neil, Jay and Will - head to Crete for their version of "Schoolies Week", where the main aim is to pick up, er....well, fans of the show will know the terminology for what the boys term it. Early on, they meet four girls also on holiday, and the fun begins.

There are some very funny scenes along the way - the lads dancing in an empty nightclub to attract the attention of the girls initially is hilarious, and the initial reaction to the other schoolies is very good also. From here, the movie starts to slowly slide downhill. Simon spends way too much focussing on his old flame Carli, also there on holiday (if they make another movie, then PLEASE get rid of Carli from it - she holds the plots back painfully); Neil, having applied a coat of fake tan to blend in, does his, well, Neil thing (fans will know what I mean, and I'll come to that in a minute); Jay is as obnoxious as always and Will is at his moralistic, annoying "best". Neil is probably the pick of the characters with it all, with his good natured "Neil-ness" shining through. The four girls are good fun, well cast and get right into it along the way.

For too long, you keep waiting for something to happen, and also feel like kicking Simon for focussing entirely on Carli when there is a nice, willing girl under his nose. Mr Gilbert, the headmaster makes a cameo at the start and is not seen again until the very final scene, when the movie was crying out for him to play a bigger part. The scenery is great, but where it falls down for a new viewer, is needing some background knowledge of the group when watching it. If you've never seen it, some references will go straight over your head, and leave you wondering what is happening.

Without giviing too much away, the ending is horribly rushed and contrived - you can see it coming* a mile off, when there were plot turns that easily could have happened. Simon is way too naive throughout in some really contrived plot points.

This could have been hilarious, and I'd been waiting for months for it with massive expectations, and maybe that was the problem. In the session I went to, more than one pair walked out before the halfway mark. There was loads of potential in it, and yes, some really funny scenes that fans will love, but some really long flat spots also. If you aren't a fan, honestly - get the DVD"s of the three TV series, they are a much better indication of how funny the show is. If you are a big fan, you might love it, but a number of big fans I know also felt let down.

RATING: 2 1/2 stars, unfortunately

[beef]

I saw it last night, i loved the series and had low expectations as most TV shows that then make a movie are pretty ordinary. I loved it and thought it was just as good as any season. I would see it again and hopefully they make another one with the boys at uni. I do agree there was some flat times but when u go from a 20 min episode to 100 mins there is going to be flat spots. Some of the new characters (Wills dad and Richard) werent required and just filled in time.

[OnSong]

Same. CK being a bit harsh, it's netting 80 per cent on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes and I would agree with that mark.

[southee]

David and margret were less than impressed

[CK]

David and margret were less than impressed

I don't usually watch The Movie Show, but last week, heard they were reviewing it. One of the best reviews I've heard, mainly due to Margaret's disgust, where she blamed the movie for the "Fall of the British Empire", and said it was nothing but, um, without directly quoting it - men's bits, ladies bits, vomit, poo and wee jokes, and gave it one star for the scenery.

David - "Well, I laughed a few times at it. 2 and a half stars"

[Iron Fist]

Pretty harsh mark there CK

I seen it sunday night with a few friends that like me were big fans of the series.

I think it lived up to everything I expected of it, it was rude, crude and had plenty of laughs.

Like Anchorman with Will Ferrell, unless you like the specific genre or type of comedy that the movie is displaying, some people will be disapointed and not find it funny!

I would give it 4 stars and probs hire it again when on DVD

[CK]

Pretty harsh mark there CK

I seen it sunday night with a few friends that like me were big fans of the series.

I think it lived up to everything I expected of it, it was rude, crude and had plenty of laughs.

Like Anchorman with Will Ferrell, unless you like the specific genre or type of comedy that the movie is displaying, some people will be disapointed and not find it funny!

I would give it 4 stars and probs hire it again when on DVD

As I said above - I've watched the show since it started in the UK, and like others here, have all 3 seasons on DVD, so have been a big fan for a long time. Each to their own. I probably expected a bit more from it after such a build up. Like I said, plenty of funny parts in it, but someone else alluded to, for example, new characters suddenly arriving for meaningless segments, which threw it out a bit IMHO.