Set in 1985, working-class student Brian Jackson (McAvoy) navigates his first year at Bristol University.
Director:
Tom Vaughan
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Title: Starter for 10 (2006)
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1 win & 3 nominations.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Joseph Friend | ... | |
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James Gaddas | ... | |
| Catherine Tate | ... | ||
| Mark Gatiss | ... | ||
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Robert Cawsey | ... |
University Challenge Competitor
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Rasmus Hardiker | ... |
University Challenge Competitor
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| Guy Henry | ... | ||
| James McAvoy | ... | ||
| James Corden | ... | ||
| Dominic Cooper | ... | ||
| Simon Woods | ... | ||
| Sule Rimi | ... | ||
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Joe Van Moyland | ... |
Hippy at the Party
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| Rebecca Hall | ... | ||
| Benedict Cumberbatch | ... | ||
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Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
In 1985, against the backdrop of Thatcherism, Brian Jackson enrolls in the University of Bristol, a scholarship boy from seaside Essex with a love of knowledge for its own sake and a childhood spent watching "University Challenge," a college quiz show. At Bristol he tries out for the Challenge team and falls under the spell of Alice, a lovely blond with an extensive sexual past. He's smitten, and he carelessly manages to hurt the feelings of Rebecca Epstein, a friend whose politics and wit he admires. The Challenge finale is coming up; maybe Brian can redeem himself and still avoid being a prat. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for sexual content, language and a scene of drug use | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
9 March 2007 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
A nagy kvízválasztó See more »Box Office
Opening Weekend:
£207,345 (UK) (10 November 2006)Gross:
$210,128 (USA) (23 March 2007)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Performed by The Cure
Written by Robert Smith, Laurence Tolhurst, Michael Dempsey
Published by Fiction Songs Ltd. / BMG Songs, Inc. / BMG Music Publishing Ltd.
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing
Courtesy of Fiction Records / Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Lindsay Duncan, Guy Henry, and Simon Woods appeared together in the TV show Rome (2005) See more »Goofs
Lucy incorrectly gives the source of the quote "To err is human" as Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Man." The quote actually originates from Pope's earlier work, "An Essay on Criticism." See more »Quotes
Bamber Gascoigne: Does anybody know how he knew the answer when I didn't even ask him the bloody question?See more »
Soundtracks
Boys Don't CryPerformed by The Cure
Written by Robert Smith, Laurence Tolhurst, Michael Dempsey
Published by Fiction Songs Ltd. / BMG Songs, Inc. / BMG Music Publishing Ltd.
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing
Courtesy of Fiction Records / Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
See more »
Though he's been acting since 1995, young James McAvoy is poised to become the next great European import based on his kindly faun Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia and his wide-eyed work in The Last King of Scotland alongside Forest Whittaker's fierce Idi Amin. Yet sometimes a performer's measure isn't in their solid ensemble acting, but how they carry a minor work with the sheer force of talent or personality.
McAvoy's turn in Starter for Ten as frosh geek Brian Jackson, at University in 1985, is wondrously physical and inspired. He's graced with an infinitely pliable, benevolent face that's both plain and handsome. As a smart, shy working class boy, still reeling from the loss of his father years ago, McAvoy wields Jackson's intelligence as both sword and shield – he draws you to him with his wit, and keeps you at arm's length with the same. For all his smarts, he's at a loss when drawn to both the enigmatic Julie (the piercingly funny Catherine Tate) – a partner on the school's quiz team – and the politically active Rebecca (the gangly beauty Rebecca Hall who hits low vocal notes reminiscent of Emma Thompson).
Directed by Tom Vaughan from an agile screenplay by David Nicholls, Starter for Ten is the best movie John Hughes would have made if he was English and set his comedies in college instead of high school. Though predictable and erratically paced, there's a real suggestion of university life in it. And McAvoy's creation wrings true emotion. He has a showcase scene in a restaurant where he goes from laughter to tears within the same sentence – you're with him all the way. The movie is an entertaining piffle, but it serves notice that you just might be watching the birth of a star.