Cemetery Junction (2010)

A 1970s-set comedy centered on three young working class friends in a dreary suburb of Reading.

Directors:

Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant

Writers:

Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant

Stars:

Christian Cooke, Felicity Jones, Tom Hughes

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hughes	...	Bruce Pearson
Ricky Gervais	...	Mr. Taylor
Christian Cooke	...	Freddie Taylor
Ralph Fiennes	...	Mr Kendrick
Matthew Goode	...	Mike Ramsay
Jack Doolan	...	Snork
Steve Speirs	...	Sgt. Wyn Davies
Jessica Jones	...	Girl in Street
Madeleine Dunbar	...	Wife in Bar
Andrew Brooke	...	Husband in Bar
Burn Gorman	...	PC Renwick
Anne Reid	...	Freddie's Gran
Julia Davis	...	Mrs Taylor
Albert Welling	...	Mr. Waring
Katy Murphy	...	Mrs Waring

Storyline

It's 1973 in Cemetery Junction, a Reading suburb. Three working class lads, best friends, are coming of age. Freddie wants to rise above his station, taking a job selling life insurance, wearing a suit and tie. Snork works at the railway station and wants a girlfriend some day. Bruce talks of leaving but seems on track to work at a factory, drink and fight, and become like his dad, in front of the telly with beer on hand; and he's trying the patience of the police officer who gets him out of jams. Freddie's job leads the lads toward a few small changes. He runs across a childhood friend, Julie, his boss's daughter who's engaged to the firm's top seller. Can the lads break out?

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Plot Keywords:

beer | aspiration | train station | stationmaster | police officer | 

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Taglines:

In Cemetery Junction some people want success, some people want a good time, and everyone wants a way out.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 April 2010 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Men at the Pru

Filming Locations:

Taylor's Bellfoundry, Freehold Street, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, UK

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,328,877

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Sony International Motion Picture Production Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Karl Pilkington: A party goer at the salesman of the year ball.

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Goofs

During the night club scene, the song 'I believe in miracles' was sung. This was not released until 1976. In fact, some patrons dance to disco. In the summer of 1973, there was no music genre 'disco' so any such music would have fallen upon confounded ears.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mr Kendrick: Frederick Taylor. Freddie Taylor. Welcome to Vigilant Life Assurance. I see you grew up in Cemetery Junction. Went to Stone Meade, the worst school in the south of England.

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Connections

Referenced in Cemetery Junction: The Lads Look Back - The Stars Discuss Cemetery Junction (2010)

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Soundtracks

Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree
Written by L. Russell Brown & Irwin Levine

User Reviews

Good...Reminiscent of other films, but its not something that has not been told before

I can't say I'm disappointed in this film, because with Ricky's touch few things can remain boring, or uninteresting. If you have seen Ricky interviewed about this film, he'll tell you exactly what influenced him to write and direct this film. However, unlike Invention of Lying which was pretty original, though its influences were clear, one cannot look at Cemetery junction without thinking of the many, many coming to age films he or she has seen. In other words, in his other works, Ricky's influences blend in with his originality and gave a unique product. IN cemetery junction, however, his influences take center stage and dominate the film, not allowing for a great deal of originality to shine through.

This is a solid work from Gervais, and as he says, it is a beautiful love-letter to Britain. It is truly disappointing that Gervais could not make something original out of it. Maybe, I am pursuing this point fiercely, but it is the main problem of the movie. When you look at Cemetery junction, you can not stop to think of endless other films that have pursued the same content. If you are not a big movie buff, or just like to see Gervais and Merchant you won't be disappointed, but you are not going to get a highly original work as The Office.

The acting is also decent at best. The problem with the acting is not the actors themselves, but is their over-dominance on the role. They are not comfortable in playing the characters; they over-react in ways that are truly unnecessary for this film. They all want to take center stage (the main male, central characters), and this need for dominating the role really undermines the true talent that they posses.

I walked out of the theater not disappointed, but not charmed either. I can best describe my immediate reaction as indifference; it was kind of like, "oh, I just watched a Gervais' film that was okay;" unlike the admiration that I had for his TV work or earlier films.

In addition, the music in the film and the soundtrack is very typical of seventies and eighties music. I wish Gervais had chosen varied songs, similar to Tarantino, in his film. He chooses instead a large variety of popular songs by Roxy Music, Springsteen etc. They are too familiar to truly leave an impression on the audience.