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:

railway station | police officer | coming of age | fight | jail | 

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Taglines:

Be Young. Be Free. Be Somebody.

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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

Opening Weekend:

£641,218 (United Kingdom), 18 April 2010, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,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

The premise/plot of the film is said, by both Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, to be based upon the song "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen.

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Goofs

The film is set in 1973, yet all of the trains seem are in liveries from the 1960's. (While it is true that the last of the crimson coaches weren't repainted until 1974, by 1973 almost all locomotives were blue and coaches blue or blue and grey.)

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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 Life's Too Short: Episode #1.4 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)
Words and Music by Frank Wilson

User Reviews

Enjoyable

"Cemetery Junction" is Ricky Gervais's second attempt at directing a major motion picture. A fan of his previous work in television but having been disappointed by "The Invention of Lying" I was not sure what to expect. The final result was a 95 minute movie that was flawed yet very fun to watch and something to lose yourself in for a short period of time.

The plot of "Cemetery Junction" evolves around three young men in 1973 who are desperately trying to avoid spending the rest of their lives in working class Reading and ending up like their parents. The film itself is mainly a drama but there is plenty of well-placed, classic Gervais comedy throughout. The majority is setting the scene and developing the characters. However, this leads to the final twenty minutes seeming quite rushed with slightly choppy editing and throwing in a few clichés which it had previously done a good job of avoiding. The acting was brilliant for the most part, but I felt Christian Cooke (who probably has the most screen time out of the trio of friends) was a little wooden.

Overall, "Cemetary Junction" is an enjoyable film that should please Gervais fans yet can be more widely appreciated as he is attempting to do something different and, in my opinion, does a pretty good job of it.

7/10