My Last Five Girlfriends (2009)

Director:

Julian Kemp

Writers:

Julian Kemp (screenplay)
Alain de Botton (novel)

Release Date:

March 2010 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel | Number In Title

Cast

Brendan Patricks	...	Duncan
Naomie Harris	...	Gemma
Kelly Adams	...	Wendy
Cécile Cassel	...	Rhona
Jane March	...	Olive
Edith Bukovics	...	Natalie
Michael Sheen	...	Burnam
Mark Benton	...	Alan
Johnny Ball	...	Statistics expert
Michael Douglas	...	Shoe afficianardo
Daniel Hoffmann-Gill	...	Will
Chris Gascoyne	...	Lister
Brendan O'Hea	...	Ted
Steve Ryde	...	Man on Bus
Ian Kirkby	...	Tour Guide

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Willing Pilowsky Productions

Clever plot devices abound in this quirky and well-executed rom-com

"You'll probably wind up sitting next to the cast and crew" suggested the marketing blurb on the Edinburgh International Film Festival poster; an unlikely overstatement I thought, until I went to this little gem of a film, and the bloke in the next seat along turned out to be the Directory of Photography. Indeed, a healthy smattering of the cast and crew pitched up for the film's second showing, and fair play to them for taking the trouble.

I'm not really a great one for rom-coms, this was a definite wife-pick and I went in with limited expectations. However, it didn't take long for a fairly rapid re-appraisal. The basic premise - a series of takes on why some relationships don't work out from the perspective of a slightly geeky bloke (apparently, this is grossly unfair as my wife informs me that he's pretty hot stuff) – is not desperately original, but the manner of its execution is both well above the average and decidedly original.

The film is crammed with witty and ingenious ideas – the Barbie doll vignette to summarise the 'girl on a plane' back-story is inspired, as is the Theme Park concept of a different ride for each girlfriend. Nice. The cameos are perfectly-pitched, in particular Michael Sheen and Johnny Ball, and the effervescent Vitamin C tablet fake ending was equally well-judged. The pace is fast and there's little, if any, slack in the tight script – indeed, if I had a minor grumble, it would be that I felt the film would have benefited from a little more time spent on character development of girlfriends 1-4.

Effective as a comedy on a number of levels, it even managed to slot in some painful relationship truisms – the 'cereal box' effect at the start of a relationship, yet another clever idea – that had the audience chuckling in knowing appreciation.

It left me wanting more, and I hope that commercial success beckons, because this film thoroughly merits it. 7/10 (which is admittedly a bit mean, and more down to me not really liking the genre).