Review of Cemetery Junction (2010) by Chris H — 25 Apr 2010

A decent debut from Gervais and Merchant, but nowhere near to scaling the heights of their epic talents. The execution is great, both the direction and the performances are stylish, perhaps a little too stylish.

I would have preferred a much grittier take, finding a bit more edge between the mundane and the 70s hip. It's not as funny as we all know if could have been, only because the funnies are not the film's focus, it's all about the coming of age tale, told flawlessly here.

But it's been told flawlessly hundreds of times because, let's face it, there's nothing to it. It's rom-com by the numbers, and doesn't give them enough space to really nail the gags or the emotional substance they are capable of.

Too nice, too safe, too ordinary, and frankly too generic. Next time the lads need to go back to their roots, get nasty and have a go at society again. The technique's there, just need that one great original idea.