The Inbetweeners Movie (2011)

Warning, may contain Clunge


Spun-off from the British TV Series, Will (Simon Bird), Neil (Blake Harrison), Jay (James Buckley) and Simon (Joe Thomas) have finished their exams and decide to go on holiday to Crete for two weeks of sun, sea, booze and sex.



Let's just get this out of the way, The Inbetweeners Movie is not a film you'd go in to get a better meaning of life or a film that tries to be award winning. It just intends to be an end to the television series whilst not losing the heart and humour that made the series such a hit, and in that retrospect, it succeeds.

With a film like this, it isn't the plot that is judged as to how good the film is, it's the jokes, and in this sense, the film succeeds. I won't ruin any of the gags or quote any of the lines, but the writers have managed to pack the film with the same humour that made the TV show a hit, including physical humour and poop jokes (not the bad kind). A number of the jokes will only make you smile, but there are still a number of jokes which will leave you laughing out loud.

The main four manage to equally share the laughs, but their greatest moments are when they're together as a group of friends, with their stand-out moment being a dance sequence done to impress girls. The love interests manage to be more than just potential lays for the boys, providing jokes and their own character journeys which make their characters anything but one-dimensional.

The Pussay Patrol on the prowl

The film isn't just played for laughs, there are moments of drama and of brilliant friendship that show this film isn't just sex gags and dick jokes, it's got believable characters and believable situations. That's another great thing about this film, it plays out situations believably, whereas lesser takes on teen life (see Skins) would suspend belief and give us a ridiculously soppy moment that rarely works in real life.

However, the movie isn't entirely bulletproof. Simon's regression to pining after ex-girlfriend Carly grates throughout the film, to the point the entire audience groaned whenever Simon reverted to chasing after her. Also, the film seemed to be trying too hard to make a memorable recurring character from Richard, when in actuality he only managed to raise a laugh or two.

The Inbetweeners Movie manages to succeed where many a british comedy failed, it effortlessly translates from television series to motion picture, keeping the humour, the heart and the character dynamic that made the television series such a brilliant show, ending The Inbetweeners on a high note. Goodbye, Inbetweeners, it's been a pleasure.

Comments

Tom_Film_Master said…
Terrific review and excellent points! i may see this now!