Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008) Reviews

• Really great adaptation - I hope you enjoy it too.

  metalli-chick2008-07-30

  My daughter and I went to see this film last night with great anticipation as we have read the books. I know that the director is great having seen her previous work and I was looking forward to seeing how she and her co-writer had adapted the books for screen. First off it is based on the both 'Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging' and 'it's okay, I'm wearing really big knickers' there have been a few minor changes to make it work on film without Georgia sounding too whiny and to make the story flow better. It was a shame that we didn't get to meet Sven and his awesome flares, but he was there disco dancing in the background and Georgia fans will know him when they see him. From the moment it started we were engaged, the cinema was packed and during Georgia's initial walk home we were howling with laughter and it just got better. (Did her feet move or did she glide?) The audience was a mixed bunch, a majority of teenage girls, a sprinkling of boys and a few of us "out of the stone age", I don't think that anybody disliked it. It got major reactions from all of the audience each finding humour in different places. There were a few sad ahhh's when there was a sad looking 'Dave the Laugh', some misty eyes during a serious dressing down and laughter at Mum ogling Jem - or was that just me! anyhoo - both my daughter (16) and I (38) would pay to see it again. We highly recommend it but take a tissue with you, if not for the tears of laughter but for those misty eyes that may sneak up on you. It gives you a warm feeling to be reminded what romance and love is, both from a younger and older point of view. Although I did say to my daughter on the way home that you are not incomplete if you are don't have a partner, but it can be a great feeling when you are ready. But Georgia is written with a boyfriend goal in mind. Look out Sex God Georgia has a plan!

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• Angus, Thongs and a Barrel of Laughs

  zezepants2008-11-09

  I, just like many of the other people who have written comments, had read the Georgia Nicolson books from my early teens. When i heard of the film, i admit i was very excited. But i was worried that with the case with most book to films that it would be mutilated. Once IMDb has updated their information and said Gurinder Chadha was directing, it filled me with a little bit more hope. She had done some good films in the past, and i was hoping she wouldn't let us down. When i went to the cinema, i actually laughed out loud for the majority of the film. it was lovely to see the books brought to life, and so well. Georgia Groome (who played Georgia Nicolson) did an excellent job, i think they did very well on the casting. The only exception to this was Dave the laugh, he wasn't what i imagined, but he was good enough. Overall i thought this film was really good, and Chadha did well on behalf of Louise Rennison!

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• An enjoyable comedy

  catchingfire182008-07-31

  As a fan of the books I was expecting a lot from 'Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging' and although a lot of things from the books were included, a lot was changed or left out altogether, which at first I found slightly disappointing. Having separated the film from the books and viewing the film just as it is, I thought this was a solid romantic comedy about a fourteen year old girl (Georgia Nicholson) going through all the ups and downs of being a teenager - boys, kissing, friends, fall-outs, family problems etc. The lead character was portrayed well by Georgia Groome, who showed Georgia's many different sides from a self-obsessed drama queen to a caring and insightful young woman. Although the four young leads over acted at times, this helped to accentuate the drama of being a teenager. 'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging' is aimed in particular at 12-16 year olds (although it's themes will appeal to females of all ages). That's not to say that males will not enjoy it, anyone who is or has been a fourteen year old can relate to the main character and her issues. There are some very cheesy moments, and if you don't like clichéd and 'disney' type films then this isn't for you. However I think that for it's genre, 'Angus, Thongs...' has just the right mix of romance, laughter and also some very touching scenes between Georgia and her parents. Overall 'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging' is a hilarious, light hearted film, which I thoroughly enjoyed!

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• This makes the teen generation look pretty stupid.

  ninjapirate932009-09-10

  I am a fifteen year old girl and I loathed this film. The film begins with the main character, a teenage girl named Georgia (with the most annoying accent I have ever heard), happily walking down the street dressed as an olive. She arrives at a fancy-dress party and has to face the terrible humiliation of being the only one dressed as a food. How will Georgia cope? Will she do the most natural thing and take off the costume if she's that embarrassed about it and have a fun evening with her friends? No, of course not. That makes too much sense. What she DOES do is storm over to her friends, demand why they aren't wearing costumes like hers as they agreed, then deems their excuses as inadequate and runs out of the place, knocking over drinks and plates of biscuits and people along the way. She then goes running through the streets, still dressed as a stuffed olive. Actually, that scene is the film's main highlight as it did almost change my look of disbelief to a weak smile for a second or two. After arriving home and throwing a full on tantrum which involves stomping on her costume, ripping photos off the walls and throwing all her teddy-bears onto the floor, Georgia takes a deep breath and announces to the family that she's going to be 'more mature from now on'. Well, she's made a good start! Drinks all around! At school the next day, suddenly Georgia and her three school-mates are all best friends again. Obviously there was a major plot point when I wasn't looking. And during their lunch break, they notice two new guys strolling through the grounds. And 'it's boy-stalking time!' Yes, that's their dialogue. Okay, maybe teenagers talked like that in 1886, but come on, screenwriter. Get with the times. They stalk the poor boys through a montage, taking notes and spying on them through a pair of binoculars (and even breaking out into an utterly ridiculous dance routine at the end). I half expected them to all tie their shoelaces every time the boys turned around. But this didn't happen, mainly because the boys didn't, not once, turn around, a fact that I find pretty amazing. How hard can four giggling-screeching-in-uniform-linking-arms-armed-with-binoculars schoolgirls be to spot? And so, obviously, Georgia gets to know the guy she's got her eye on (Robbie) and yes, obviously he already has a girlfriend. Georgia is heartbroken. I was mildly perturbed. I imagined what Georgia would tell the rest of her friends to be something like this: You know that handsome guy I talked to for eight seconds? Well, he has a girlfriend! I've never felt so BETRAYED! Anyway, Georgia tries to make him jealous by going out with another guy… (screenwriter's motto: 'originality is, like, so overrated') he finds out and makes her feel bad… (oh, the twists and turns!) etc, etc. You know the drill. It's only been done eight million times already. So, after a lot of boring events laced with clichés that are too tiresome to think about, let alone write down, Georgia and her bestie, Jaz, split up and throw catty insults at each other during a netball game, the grand, dramatic finale when Georgia stomps on Jaz's foot. Oh, the horror. The second-last sequence in the movie is a bit of a mystery to me because at the start of the film, Georgia was unpopular in her school, but suddenly, her night-club is packed with what looks like the entire population of her state, everyone cheering and throwing confetti like she's just handed out free flip-phones. And then Jaz comes up to her and hugs her as if nothing ever happened between them, forcing me to conclude that an entire chapter was cut out of the film for pace reasons. Either that, or I accidentally slept through it. Anyway, for reasons the film doesn't care to share, Georgia is now officially a hero. I have heard of the term 'suspension of disbelief' and actively engage in it with popcorn-fare such as the Indiana Jones films, and any line Orlando Bloom says, but this is going too far. Sorry movie, but no humans act like this. Not in any state, in any country, on any planet. I thereby conclude that 'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging' is the worst teenage film I have ever seen. Eye-clawingly bad.

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• Maybe it's more of a (very strange) girl 's film.. *SPOILERS*

  anxietyresister2009-07-20

  The saga of Georgia Nicolson is one most likely to be appreciated by a teenage girl between the ages of 12 and 16. I watched hoping for some good drama and comedy, but left disappointed by the lack of depth in the characters and the coarseness of the jokes. Also, the love interests for Georgia and her best mate Jas are personality-less pretty boys without an ounce of charisma, which makes you wonder why they are pursued with such ferocity by our big-nosed heroine and her blonde friend. Ooh, one works in an organic fruit shop and the other in the lead singer in a band. Talk about too perfect. Plus can we have a film where the parents aren't a down-with-it mum and a dopey dad? Hearing Mrs Nicolson describing schoolboys as 'fitties' and lusting after a shirtless builder about 20 years her junior might be embarrassing, but it isn't especially funny. And the less said about Alan Davies's confusion over how many pairs of brown trousers to take to work abroad with him, and his bad dancing at his daughter's birthday disco (more on that farce later..), the better. In fact, there are so many weird'n'wacky individuals in this film there's hardly any room for normality at all, and I genuinely feel sorry for any female who can relate to it. Taking a cat for a walk on a lead? Applying moisture to turn your legs yellow before going swimming?! Going to a snog specialist's house to learn how to kiss a boy, who is so popular he has to squeeze you into a 30 minute session??! Yeah, right. This seriously harms the credibility of the film when there are so many surreal elements, which constantly take you out of the action and leave you scratching your head and saying out loud: HUH?! "PEOPLE DON'T BEHAVE LIKE THAT!!" Balanced alongside the more tender, soap opera-ish moments the formula doesn't match up, and you're left with a bit of a mess. The ending deserves a paragraph all to itself. Only a scriptwriter could construct something as ridiculous as this: In the space of five minutes in a 'surprise party' every problem is solved: All relationships are reconciled, an unwanted move to New Zealand is cancelled when her father gets a promotion at home, The nasty girl is humiliated on stage when her boob padding is removed by Jas, and Georgia gets a song dedicated to her by her new beau on the main stage. Oh bless! Even Georgina's other nerdy girlfriends get introduced to more vapid pretty boys so they can have equally vapid pretty babies when they grow up. One problem: this is the most phony, contrived, unrealistic conclusion to a movie I have seen for ages. I know they want to end on a happy note, but this definitely overdoing it. By a LLOONNGG way. Oh and Georgie: your new song is pure, unadulterated sh**e. And your dreamboat is obviously miming. Sorry, luv. Perhaps I'm disappointed that I disagree with the main theme of the film so much: that getting a boyfriend is the be and end-all when you're 14. When I was her age, I was more bothered about what was on TV and my homework to bother with the opposite sex. In this movie however, Nearly every action and thought the heroine has is to manipulate the tedious hunk to being her squeeze. This is even before she's even spoken to him: one flash of those baby blues and she's all OMG I MUST AVE IM!! How about actually erm.. finding out if he's a good person, or discovering if you've got similar interests? Pretending you've lost your pet so he can help you look for it, or suddenly discovering a passion for hated veg just to get him into bed won't work in the long term of a partnership. Well, I suppose it does in the film, but that's because the object her affection is as dumb as a rock. You can only put up a front for so long.. Phew, I said enough. I set out to write a quick article and ended up with possibly my longest review ever. Typical. But it had to be said. Watch lovers of the book mark this way down. Do I care? Not a jot. Fire away, you know I am right ;)... 4/10

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