Review of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008) by Valerie P — 12 Nov 2012

Rating - 8/10.

I absolutely adored this film. Having never read Rennison's books, I was pleasantly surprised by the way the overly familiar coming of age themes were approached. These types of teenage dramas have all been done before, and so you have to bring something really different to the drawing board if you're to make an impression in this thoroughly saturated genre. This film most definitely makes that achievement. With wit and comedic scenes that are neither over-the-top or too subdued, it brings the audience right back to those feelings of inadequacy, longing, and angst that characterize most teenage years.

There's an overall joy to the film, despite the recurrent doubts and worries of your average teenage outcast. I love how, as in so many British films, the actors are real and not made up like models. Georgia Groome makes the role her own. She is at once that teenage girl in all of us and that girl we all saw picked on at school. You root for her because you're rooting for yourself. We all know what it's like to say the most hideously stupid thing to the crush of your dreams, just because it popped into your head and tumbled from your mouth unbidden.

If I enjoyed the film this much, I'm already convinced that the books must be a real laugh as well.