In 1985, working-class student Brian Jackson (James McAvoy) navigates his first year at Bristol University. Brian's biggest concern is making the team for the long-running British television quiz show University Challenge. He also finds himself romantically torn between two very different girls: blonde bombshell and team mate Alice (Alice Eve) and the politically-concious Rebecca (Rebecca Hall).
With a backdrop of anti-Apartheid rallies, filthy dorm rooms, and marijuana smoke, not to mention Margaret Thatcher's economically depressed Blighty, the film also features a killer new-wave soundtrack: The Cure, Wham!, Bananarama, Yaz, The Smiths, New Order, Tears For Fears, Echo And The Bunnymen, The Buzzcocks and The Psychedelic Furs.
Showcasing the considerable talents of ubiquitous thesp James McAvoy ("The Last King of Scotland," "Penelope") and several other up-and-coming Brit actors, picture garnishes fairly standard college-set plot with wit, warmth and unexpected turns...
Full reviewThere's a boy like Brian Jackson lurking in the trailer of every girl's green youth. He's the quiet, nerdishly good-looking fellow at uni parties who passes up the beer bongs for discussions on Jung and mortality... This self-deprecating movie has a somewhat vapid plot, but contains a surprisingly sweet cream-bun centre...
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Set to join the pantheon of beloved Brit-coms like Four Weddings and Bridget Jones’s Diary — if there’s any justice — this is a true winner, and the smartest comedy you will see this year...
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This is a fairly pleasant night out, with a great soundtrack, for those whose memories of tertiary education involve lame parties, experimenting with drugs and drinking and disastrous encounters with the opposite sex. There are far worse ways to spend 93 minutes on a cold winter's night...
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In the final stretch, Vaughan's recreation of the BBC gameshow is a treat, brimming with laughs and bittersweet whimsy...
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