Review of Cemetery Junction (2010) by Harry F — 28 Oct 2010

This is a big claim for disappointment of the year. Given Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are involved, it should be at least funny and mildly poignant. Instead, it's just boring. I can't really remember any properly funny moments, and the drama is virtually nowhere to be seen. Aside from one (admittedly good) prison cell scene which is by far the most dramatic scene in the film, it's basically inconsequential. There's no element that they really need to leave this place, so when they finally do, you just shrug. The entire film could be summed up like that: A massive shrug.

The three actors are decent, if a bit unlikeable. Ricky Gervais is suprisingly poor, just sounding almost speeed up, and in the end he has nothing to work with, as do most of the supporting cast, except Steve Speirs, who is actually quite good. A lot of the cast are people already associated with Gervais and Merchant, some who are funny, some who are massive misfires.

The look and feel of the film is quite nice, capturing the 70's in a simple but un-cliched way. There are a couple of decent actors, and a couple of decent scenes, but in the end, this is a film that feels pointless, and, as I said, entirely inconsequential.