WALKING ON SUNSHINE

When Taylor (Hannah Arterton) is flown to Italy by her sister Maddie (Annabel Scholey) she is shocked to discover that it is for her sister's wedding to boyfriend of just five weeks... And even more shocked when she realises that her sister's boyfriend is Raf (Giulio Berruti), her holiday romance from three years ago!

Set to the music of popular songs from the 1980s and the scenery of beautiful Italian beaches, Walking On Sunshine (12A) should have all of the ingredients to be the feel-good movie of the summer, so how did it go so drastically wrong?

Desperately trying to be the new Mamma Mia, Walking On Sunshine fails in almost every way possible with more than one person walking out of the cinema part-way through. Let me start with this; 99% of musicals are going to be cheesy, that is just a given, however when Hannah Arterton bursts into the first number of the film, Madonna's 'Holiday', with a massive forced grin on her face and autotuned within an inch of her life I physically grimaced with second hand embarrassment. It's nothing against the song - I love the song, in fact I love every single song that features in the film, it is the clunky, awkward performances that make them so unbearable to watch.

The problem when trying to write a musical around songs that already exist, as opposed to writing the numbers specifically for the film in mind, is that every transition appears really random and really forced; the exchange'I don't know what Raf sees in me' 'You're a goddess!' leads to a rendition of Bananarama's 'Venus', Raf closes his eyes for a moment which incites Taylor to warble The Bangles' 'Eternal Flame', and just before the credits role comes 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' - presumably to wake up the snoozing audience members.

Not only are the songs awkwardly random, they are blatantly pre-recorded with the cast miming to them, badly. Of course not every musical can do a Les Mis where the actors sing live but you just don't expect the fact that they don't sing live to be so show-stoppingly obvious. A lot of the voices are auto-tuned to the extent that they don't sound natural at all and the singing that you hear doesn't match up to the performances that you are seeing onscreen, they may as well have been two different things - an album, and a silent movie. Even former X Factor winner Leona Lewis receives the auto-tuning treatment, something which is both baffling and unnecessary in the professional singer's first movie role.

The storyline itself is also intolerable; so thin and two-dimensional that there is barely anything to it with any attempt at character development, mostly in the form of Maddie, appearing forced and terribly executed. Hannah Arterton's performance as the irrational and slightly annoying Taylor is over-acted and makes you wonder who her competition was in winning the role and the inclusion of Maddie's obsessed ex-boyfriend Doug (Greg Wise) seemed to be more about Wise's desperation in a last-ditch attempt to launch a successful movie career than about the actual character.

All in all, Walking On Sunshine is one big mess - a bad storyline, bad characters, bad actors and bad musical performances with the only slightly redeeming factor being the fact that you can stare at the beautiful Giulio Berruti for an hour and a half... But to be honest, even his chiseled cheekbones, piercing blue eyes and washboard stomach aren't enough to make the film worth watching.

Walking On Sunshine is in UK cinemas from June 27th!

★☆☆☆☆

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WE ARE THE BEST!

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Based on Coco Moodysson’s graphic novel ‘Never Goodnight’,  We Are The Best! is a heartwarming, coming-of-age story that will remind you just what it was like to be thirteen.

Set in Stockholm, 1982, We Are The Best! Follows three 13-year-old girls, Bobo (Mira Barkhammar), Klara (Mira Grosin) and Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne), who decide to form a punk band – despite everybody telling them that punk is dead.

The premise of the film is an interesting one; 1982 punk from a child’s point of view is a unique narrative and could easily have gone wrong or stagnated relatively quickly once the novelty of the subject matter had worn off. However,  despite the niche exterior of the film, We Are The Best! is ultimately a heartwarming tale with charm, wit and nostalgia at its core.

Alongside the main storyline of the three young girls attempting to form a punk band, we follow Bobo, Klara and Hedvig as they try to navigate first loves, embarrassing parents and ignorant bullies who pick on the girls for their love of punk rock – making it more of a lesson in youth and friendship for the audience, rather than punk music and 1982 Stockholm.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about We Are The Best! is just how easily the three young actresses carry the film. It is always going to be risky business when a film is heavily dependent on child actors, especially when placing them in an era that they know nothing about alongside such a specific, and alternative, subject matter. Barkhammer, Grosin and LeMoyne have a natural chemistry that ensure the authenticity of their friendship isn’t doubted for a moment; making it really feel as though you are really watching a group of best friends.

Even more endearing than their on-screen friendship are the buckets of charisma that the girls bring to the film. They bounce off each other with wit and embody their characters with such energetic charm and innocence, making it an absolute joy to watch them flounce around Stockholm, thinking that they’re grown up and know everything that there is to know. We Are The Best! has a brilliant self-awareness that pokes fun at the know-it-all attitude that young people have without coming across as patronising or mocking of teenagers. Instead, it provides a nostalgic trip down memory lane for every older person in the audience who will watch these characters and be reminded of the embarrassing things that they did when they were thirteen too.

Throughout the film, the audience witness the trials and tribulations of adolescence; the girls laugh, they cry, they get scolded by parents. They fight over boys, are laughed at by their classmates and secretly get drunk from Klara’s older brother’s alcohol – all whilst trying to become the biggest and best punk band in the World. It is this relatability that makes the film so enjoyable, with it staying realistic and light-hearted right until the very end.

All in all, We Are The Best! serves as an endearing reminder of what it was like to be 13. On the outside, the fact that it is set in 1982 Sweden and is about the punk movement might seem a little alienating, however, the crux of the film is the innocence of childhood and with such fresh, energetic and charming performances from the film’s protagonists, it’s impossible to watch We Are The Best! without a smile on your face.

★★★★☆

We Are The Best! is in cinemas from 18th April!

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Love,

LABOR DAY

Labor Day tells the story of Adele (Kate Winslet) a depressed single mum who is riddled with anxiety following her divorce from son, Henry's (Gattlin Griffith), father. On the Friday of Labor Day weekend (an international US holiday for all us non-American folk), escaped convict Frank (Josh Brolin) leaves Adele with no option but to let him hide from the police in her home. However, over the weekend both Adele and Henry realise that there is more to Frank than meets the eye.

The film is beautifully shot and, as you would expect from Kate Winslet, wonderfully acted. Winslet plays troubled Adele with empathy and raw emotion, meaning that even though her anxiety has left her a woman of few words, you still feel like you have got a deep understanding of the character. Gattlin Griffith also gives a strong performance as 13-year-old Henry, and being set in 1987 ensured that the film had a pretty, nostalgic vibe throughout.

However, despite the performances and technicalities of the film being faultless, the narrative is simply not

Such a dreamboat.

strong enough to make a fully enjoyable story, and in comparison to Winslet's well-rounded portrayal of Adele, Brolin's 'lovable rouge' character, Frank, felt lazy and saturated with cliches. Frank has escaped from prison where he was serving time for murder, as the film progresses we come to see that there was more to the crime than police would have you believe and the constant flashes of the press reinforcing that a dangerous man is on the run serves as a reinforcement of the contrast between the real Frank and prison inmate Frank.

To be quite frank about Frank, this is a story that has been done a thousand times before, and Labor Day adds nothing original or refreshing to the 'misunderstood tough guy' character, in fact, it is all so stereotypical that Frank becomes somewhat of a caricature. This fugitive that near enough forced his way into Adele and Henry's home is all of a sudden the most perfect man to exist; despite the news stories and other characters in the film harping on about how awful and dangerous he is, we see him teaching Henry how to play baseball, he helps Adele out by doing the manly chores around the house, he plays guitar and throws BBQs and has a way with children - and did I mention that he cooks? Not only does he cook meals for the household, when faced with surplus peaches he even has the wacky idea of turning them into a pie, teaching Adele and Henry how to make pastry in the process (which, by the way, is really not that hard and the way that the film focused on this pastry-making scene you would think that he was teaching them the cure for cancer). Yep, in just one weekend this superhero Frank swoops into the house and shapes their lives forever; because he isn't a cold-hearted murderer, okay? He is a troubled, lovable rouge.

Wow Frank, you can make pastry? Such a genius.

Give me a break. In fact, as the film progresses the constant reinforcement of how brilliant Frank is becomes somewhat nauseating and painful to watch. A pain that only becomes stronger as, oh yes, he and Adele fall hopelessly in love. Did I mention this entire film takes place over one weekend??

The story is littered with implausible moments, for which you will have to seriously suspend your disbelief in order to accept. The film moves painfully slowly through a series of cliches only for the climax to be lazily thought out and underwhelming - suspicions begin to be roused for absolutely no reason, other than for the story to come to some kind of an ending, and the epilogue is just a ridiculous reinforcement of how great, brilliant, and life-defining Frank is.

All in all, it is a shame that Winslet's brilliant acting and the beautiful, autumnal cinematography went to waste on such a stupid storyline. It is by no means a 'bad film' in the conventional sense; thanks to the strong cast it is definitely watchable despite the fact you will constantly be rolling your eyes and scoffing at the cliches, but I simply expected more. It is a slow burner, and the steady stream of 'WTF' moments means that you will not be able to become fully engrossed in the film as common sense will prevail and keep pulling you back into reality. However, the hapless love story and nostalgic setting might make it a film that your grandma will enjoy.

★★☆☆☆

Labor Day is in cinemas nationwide from the 21st of March!

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Love,