Starter for 10 (2006)

Director:

Tom Vaughan

Writers:

David Nicholls (novel)
David Nicholls (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Set in 1985, working-class student Brian Jackson (McAvoy) navigates his first year at Bristol University.

Plot Keywords:

University | Student | Love | Scholarship | Thatcherism

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Joseph Friend	...	Young Brian
James Gaddas	...	Martin Jackson
Catherine Tate	...	Julie Jackson
Mark Gatiss	...	Bamber Gascoigne
Robert Cawsey	...	University Challenge Competitor
Rasmus Hardiker	...	University Challenge Competitor
Guy Henry	...	Dr. Morrison
James McAvoy	...	Brian Jackson
James Corden	...	Tone
Dominic Cooper	...	Spencer
Simon Woods	...	Josh
Sule Rimi	...	Marcus
Joe Van Moyland	...	Hippy at the Party
Rebecca Hall	...	Rebecca Epstein
Benedict Cumberbatch	...	Patrick Watts

Also Known As:

Starter for Ten (UK) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, language and a scene of drug use.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Ireland:15A | UK:12A | Finland:K-7 | New Zealand:M | Australia:M | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

BBC Films

Trivia:

Despite the fact she plays his mother Catherine Tate is only 11 years older than James McAvoy.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the follow-up questions on University Challenge, answers must be given through the team captain. The movie shows both Alice and Brian answering follow-up questions themselves. However, this was quite normal in the original series, the "captain restriction" appearing to be a feature of the Paxman era.

Quotes:

Rebecca Epstein: Brian, are you trying to flirt?
Brian Jackson: [embarrassed] No.

Movie Connections:

References Casablanca (1942)

Soundtrack:

Situation

Leaves a smile on your face - plain and simple.

Surveying the wreckage of numerous other such films - burdened at their outset with flimsy premises, one-dimensional characters, stale gimmicks that coast on the fumes of pop cultural trends, and implausible "meet-cute" situations - which could not be sustained even with big-name talent, inestimable budgets, and plague-like advertising campaigns, I was understandably sceptical as to how the "romantic comedy" aspect of this film might play out when I first sat down to watch it. In retrospect, I honestly couldn't have been more pleased. Rare indeed is the occasion when I have walked out of a theatre feeling unambiguously good about what I saw, believing that it was well worth the time and money I spent to watch it.

The story forming the basis of "Starter for 10" is handled with a great deal of humour, sensitivity, and intelligence. At no time did any part of it feel forced or contrived, nor was it condescending. Testament to this film's openness and accessibility, the emotional connection that I formed with the primary character (James MacEvoy - may he have a long and distinguished career ahead of him) was subtly cultivated throughout, reinforced by simple - yet heartachingly truthful - moments of confusion, awkwardness, uncertainty, and disappointment of the kind anyone might experience (and probably has) in similar circumstances. "Starter for 10" masterfully captures the spirit of that time in one's life wherein a person fully enters the world and begins to establish her- or himself as an individual.

So often, and unfortunately, it is the case that I see people on the screen with whom I cannot identify, in situations to which I cannot relate (this is typically due in part to the performers' overblown celebrity status and the general "Hollywood" gloss that is spread thickly over the top of everything). Not so where "Starter for 10" is concerned.

Perhaps it's no coincidence that "Starter for 10" references "The Graduate," since I believe it shall, in time, prove itself a worthy descendant of that film's legacy and subsequently receive the higher profile that it deserves.