The Inbetweeners Movie (2011)
Certified: 16
Duration: 97 minutes
Directed by: Ben Palmer
Starring: Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas, Laura Haddock, Emily Head, Tamla Kari, Jessica Knappet
KRS release
The British sitcom, The Inbetweeners, makes it to the big screen after a wild three seasons which included two Bafta nominations, a British Academy Television Award win and another win at the British Comedy Awards.
The film starts off where the series had ended. However, The Inbetweeners, goes beyond its fan base and emerges as an all fun and wild rush holiday film. It is everything that The Hangover sequel should have been, but never managed to be. Episodic and television sitcom-oriented in nature, which was to be expected, The Inbetweeners is at times gut-burstingly funny. It is vulgar funny and audiences looking for a rude time out at the cinema will find a lot to like in this demented picture. It is an American Pie adventure, British style.
The film follows the adventures of a group of youths holidaying in Mali, Crete. The group is made up of Will (Simon Bird) who is intelligent but socially inadequate, Jay (James Buckley), a compulsive liar with nothing but sex on the brains, innocent yet “dense” Neil (Blake Harrison) and Simon (Joe Thomas) perhaps the group’s normal one who is nevertheless dependent on his girlfriend.
In Mali they will also meet Carli (Emily Head), the girl over whom Simon has always been head over heels in love with yet who has just dumped him. The group meet up with four British girls holidaying in Mali and the two groups hook up.
Jane (Lydia Rose Bewley) is fun loving but her ample size embarrasses Jay, while Lucy (Tamla Kari), who seems to be very sweet, is attracted to Simon. Meanwhile, Will finds himself outclassed by Alison (Laura Haddock). For the boys (and for the girls) sex is a guarantee, or at least they hope. This leads to such shenanigans as sex with older women, a club dancer, sangria, getting chucked out of a hotel and an inordinate amount of vomiting.
The film is a chronicle of immature youths who believe they are mature enough to go on adventures that are over the top and instead show off how naïve they actually are. The script is one of the film’s strongest assets as the characters are well developed – something which is not usually deemed a necessity in this kind of comedy movie. The British style here runs rampant: Just take a look at the T-shirts that some of these characters sport, hilarious and very politically incorrect.
British sitcoms have had a hard time making their transition to the big screen, sometimes appearing incomprehensible to those who do not follow the series. The Inbetweeners is not tied down by such constraints and does not require any previous knowledge of or the viewing of the television series.
The film is rough in its production values but it is sly, witty, delightfully rude and anarchic enough to jump over these hurdles and emerge as a gag and hoot of a movie. Group viewing is recommended!