Yes, the reviews were awful. But my teen daughter and I had decided we wanted to do pizza and cinema last night and this is the film we had booked. And we were pleasantly surprised.
No, it certainly won’t win any Oscars. But it kept us absorbed, made us laugh and – despite the suicide theme – gave us a bit of a lift. We genuinely wanted to know what happened in the end. And the story romped along at a good pace – although some of the sub-plots could have been explored further.
The characters weren’t very original – a disgraced TV presenter (Pierce Brosnan), a depressed pop star (Aaron Paul) and an out of control rich girl (Imogen Poots). However, the selfless single mum with a seriously disabled adult child had a bit more depth (Toni Collette). Rosamund Pike did brilliantly being the TV interviewer we all love to hate. So there was someone for everyone.
Imogen Poot’s unusual features and outlandish outfits made compelling viewing. There were flashes of “Mama Mia!” as they jetted off to a sunshine holiday. It is a story of unlikely friendships and acceptance. Some of the music tracks were good. Did they really seem suicidal? No. Did they have the sort of “fed up with my life” feelings that we all experience at times? Yes. Did it give us hope? Yes.
Yes, it was a bit predictable. But it wasn’t as fake as some American movies. It had a bit of real life. It managed to bridge the generation gap. We liked it.
