Starter For Ten
A couple of years ago I read "Starter For Ten" by David Nicholls whilst on holiday in Lefkas. It wasn't a book I was ever really planning on reading; in fact, as I recall I picked it up in WHSmiths a few days beforehand as I had a gift voucher to use up.
It was without doubt the read of the holiday and would probably make my top 5 all-time favourite books.
No surprise, then, that I was looking forward to seeing the film version so much, which went on release last week. No surprise either that I went to see it at the earliest opportunity, i.e. on Saturday afternoon. And what a treat it was.
"Starter For Ten" is the story of 18-year old Brian Jackson, who in 1985 earns a place at Bristol University reading English Literature. He has always been obsessed with general knowledge and his ambition is to appear on the TV show "University Challenge". He eventually gets his chance in the University team and in the process, he meets and falls in love with the beautiful Alice. As is so often the case however, the course of true love does not run smoothly for Brian. Especially when you're an 18-year old in his first year at Uni..
Most people agree that when you've enjoyed a book, the film version is usually a disappointment. This was definitely not the case with "Starter For Ten". Sure, a lot of the characters are not fully developed (in the book I loved the descriptions of his Chinese team-mate, Lucy Chang) and some scenes are omitted (such as the dancing scene at his first party during freshers' week - absolutely hilarious) but other than that and a slightly different ending, the film does a good job of staying true to the novel.
The casting is spot-on; James McAvoy can only have enhanced his prospects with a superb performance as the main protagonist and Alice Eve was a fine choice for his love interest. There are some great performances from the supporting cast too, in particular from Charles Dance as Alice's father and Dominic Cooper as Brian's best mate Spencer.
The only cavil I have is that I had imagined Rebecca Epstein to be a lot less graceful than Rebecca Hall who plays her, and I distinctly remember the character being a lot more foul-mouthed, which was part of her charm. Maybe they left out the bad language so as not to offend certain viewers. Nonetheless, Hall plays the role with aplomb, and the story is stronger for it.
To make the transition to the screen a success, a great soundtrack was always going be key, and the makers have excelled themselves here. There are some great tracks by The Cure and other artists of the era, and "Please, please, please, let me get what I want" by The Smiths was a particularly inspired choice for one particular scene.
Many would argue that the ending is utterly predictable, and yes, even without reading the book I could have seen which way the story was heading. But this is not a who-dunnit, it is pure romantic comedy bliss (with a touch of nostalgia thrown in for those of us lucky enough to remeber the 80s). And quite frankly, when you're having this much fun, who cares?
"Starter For Ten" is a must see for anyone who has been a gauche young teenager in love, and I beseech anyone who has been to University to find time in their schedule to see it.
If, of course, you have been that gauche young man at University in the late 1980's (as indeed has yours truly) it would be a crime not to see it. And you don't even have to like Bamber Gascoigne.
For me, Saturday afternoon was a nostalgia fest; not just for that time in my life, but also for the enjoyment I had two years ago in Lefkas, reading "Starter For Ten" for the first time.
If only every book I picked up in WHSmiths gave me so much enjoyment.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, November 2006
It was without doubt the read of the holiday and would probably make my top 5 all-time favourite books.
No surprise, then, that I was looking forward to seeing the film version so much, which went on release last week. No surprise either that I went to see it at the earliest opportunity, i.e. on Saturday afternoon. And what a treat it was.
"Starter For Ten" is the story of 18-year old Brian Jackson, who in 1985 earns a place at Bristol University reading English Literature. He has always been obsessed with general knowledge and his ambition is to appear on the TV show "University Challenge". He eventually gets his chance in the University team and in the process, he meets and falls in love with the beautiful Alice. As is so often the case however, the course of true love does not run smoothly for Brian. Especially when you're an 18-year old in his first year at Uni..
Most people agree that when you've enjoyed a book, the film version is usually a disappointment. This was definitely not the case with "Starter For Ten". Sure, a lot of the characters are not fully developed (in the book I loved the descriptions of his Chinese team-mate, Lucy Chang) and some scenes are omitted (such as the dancing scene at his first party during freshers' week - absolutely hilarious) but other than that and a slightly different ending, the film does a good job of staying true to the novel.
The casting is spot-on; James McAvoy can only have enhanced his prospects with a superb performance as the main protagonist and Alice Eve was a fine choice for his love interest. There are some great performances from the supporting cast too, in particular from Charles Dance as Alice's father and Dominic Cooper as Brian's best mate Spencer.
The only cavil I have is that I had imagined Rebecca Epstein to be a lot less graceful than Rebecca Hall who plays her, and I distinctly remember the character being a lot more foul-mouthed, which was part of her charm. Maybe they left out the bad language so as not to offend certain viewers. Nonetheless, Hall plays the role with aplomb, and the story is stronger for it.
To make the transition to the screen a success, a great soundtrack was always going be key, and the makers have excelled themselves here. There are some great tracks by The Cure and other artists of the era, and "Please, please, please, let me get what I want" by The Smiths was a particularly inspired choice for one particular scene.
Many would argue that the ending is utterly predictable, and yes, even without reading the book I could have seen which way the story was heading. But this is not a who-dunnit, it is pure romantic comedy bliss (with a touch of nostalgia thrown in for those of us lucky enough to remeber the 80s). And quite frankly, when you're having this much fun, who cares?
"Starter For Ten" is a must see for anyone who has been a gauche young teenager in love, and I beseech anyone who has been to University to find time in their schedule to see it.
If, of course, you have been that gauche young man at University in the late 1980's (as indeed has yours truly) it would be a crime not to see it. And you don't even have to like Bamber Gascoigne.
For me, Saturday afternoon was a nostalgia fest; not just for that time in my life, but also for the enjoyment I had two years ago in Lefkas, reading "Starter For Ten" for the first time.
If only every book I picked up in WHSmiths gave me so much enjoyment.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, November 2006
posted by Jon | 8:51 pm
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