SnoopyStyle It's summer of 1973. Freddie Taylor (Christian Cooke) comes from working class suburb of Cemetery Junction. He doesn't want to follow his father (Ricky Gervais) into the factories. He takes a job selling life insurance from district manager Mr Kendrick (Ralph Fiennes) and Mike Ramsay (Matthew Goode). He has a cool friend Bruce Pearson (Tom Hughes) and an idiot friend Snork (Jack Doolan). Childhood acquaintance and his boss's daughter Julie Kendrick (Felicity Jones) returns to town and is now engaged to Mike Ramsay. Mrs Kendrick (Emily Watson) is the long suffering wife.Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have mashed together a lot of coming-of-age stories for the setup of this movie. It's got great actors although the three male leads are unknown to me. That is its main drawback for the first half. It takes a little while for me to get involved with these friends. Then the movie take some interesting turns in the characters' journeys. It takes some digs at the stale British life. It's a bit uneven between broad comedy and tough social commentary. But I do like the effort it makes.

toll-8 Ricky Gervais has mainly been known for his work on the brilliant sitcom The Office. He has attempted since to create new shows or dab his hand in film, mainly in the states, but none of these have been as much of a hit as The Office was. Gervais and writing partner Stephen Merchant generally write and direct their own stuff and more often than not cast themselves in one of the roles. In Cemetery Junction however the pair seem to have broken off from their normal devices and created something entirely different. For starters the film is a drama with comedy elements instead of an outright comedy and Gervais limits himself to more of a supporting role. Does it work then, knowing Gervais' usual style? The answer is a definite yes!The film revolves around three friends, Freddie, Bruce, and Snork, who live in a working class area of Reading called Cemetery Junction. Growing up Freddie has always respected his Father (played by Gervais) who works hard to earn a small living at a factory, however when it is Freddie's turn to work at factory he decides he doesn't want to. Instead he takes a job selling insurance, where he earns better money and wears a suit to work, despite his friends and family mocking him for it. As he begins to work he realises he has grown out of the immature activities he and his mates usually get up to, such as criminal damage, fighting, and drinking, all of which generally end up with them in a police cell. Starting to dream of making something of himself, Freddie takes his job seriously and meets an old flame Julie, who he finds is engaged to his boss and daughter of the owner to the company. His new fondness for his job doesn't rub off on his better friends who accuse him of turning into someone who believes he is better than the area he was brought up in. However his attention to detail begins to be noticed by Julie and her Mother. After spending much isolated time with Julie he begins to realise how the men within the firm are highly chauvinistic and his friends are highly immature and will never chase their dreams. Julie inspires him to break free and never let anyone or anything hold him back.The story of the film is a coming-of-age tale and it is highly noticeable within each of the characters. Despite some of the relationships seeming a little rushed, especially Freddie and Julie's, the characters are very well written and all undertake a very satisfying arc by the end. The three leads all face internal struggles where they fail to accept the moments in life that will ultimately make them better people. They use crime as a way to release their anger that builds inside them whilst promising themselves they will leave their downtrodden estate, knowing deep down that they never will. All of their internal conflicts are resolved by the end and each character's story feels complete when they come to the conclusion. The characters really do drive the story as the plot is rather bare and simple but it is the way the characters are written, presented, and acted that make you follow them on their emotional journey. All the actors play their roles very well. In my eyes the two stars were Emily Watson and Tom Hughes who both play their roles as if they were born to do it. Ralph Fiennes and Matthew Goode are also good as two chauvinistic men who believe money is more important than the women in their lives. Christian Cooke, who plays Freddie, also does a decent job but his relationship with Felicity Jones (Julie) failed to have much chemistry. In a stripped back role Gervais is also good but unfortunately Merchant is given a God-awful cameo that quite frankly should have been left out. And for Idiot Abroad lovers there is also a blink and you'll miss him cameo from Karl Pilkington. It is safe to say that Gervais and Merchant have produced a good first attempt at writing and directing a feature film. The directing isn't particularly outstanding but it tells the story, if anything it was the editing that felt a bit out of place especially with some of the jump cuts which were pointlessly used. The writing though was top class and some of the dialogue was laugh out loud funny. The words used were typical of their style of writing and at times very controversial. As the film is set in the 70's the pair have managed to write dialogue which could be classed as placing a statement in today's society but not even blinked at in the era of the film. Lines involving racism, feminism, and class derogatory were the norm back then and some of the issues raised highlight how different the world is today. It is as if Gervais has used some of the issues to spout off his own views. Not that this is an issue and instead it makes for some cringe worthy comedy. Overall I was pleasantly surprised with this film. It does have a few pacing issues towards the end but it was a lot better than I was expecting. It is definitely a feel good movie that comes to a satisfying conclusion for all the major characters. By stripping back their work of sarcasm and in your face humour, Gervais and Merchant have produced a film many would believe they couldn't and I think if they continued with this type of genre they could make something even better.3.5 / 5For more reviews: www.tolli-movieworld.blogspot.com

Stuart Bennett For me this was a great film about four ordinary teenagers trying to make it in the world. Some people have criticised the film however i feel it was a great film that kept you captivated all the way through. However it is true it begins with a slow start, But in the end leaves you intrigued into how they all end. The film contains lots of humour but don't be mislead this is almost certainly a drama so don't be fooled because it has Gervais and Merchant on the front cover.Also to add it was a great British cast and British setting of the early 1970s and is defiantly a film I would consider watching again and something I would recommend to people who haven't seen it

ajs-10 Many people remember Ricky Gervais for his work on the TV show 'The Office'. He also has a few movie roles under his belt. Now, I wasn't a fan of 'The Office', but I did like the series he did called 'Extras' which also featured Steven Merchant. Why am I telling you this, you may ask, well, I watched this in the hope it would be a little more like 'Extras' than 'The Office'… Fortunately it is. Unfortunately, although it's good, it's not all that great either. I'll explain more after this brief summary (summary haters, and those that don't wish to know about the plot, please pack you bags while I write the next paragraph).Three friends, Freddie Taylor, Bruce Pearson and Snork (real name Dave), all live in a small village outside Reading called Cemetery Junction. Freddie has just got a job as an insurance salesman, he lives with his parents and his grandmother. Bruce works in a factory with Freddie's father and lives with his dad. His mother having left when he was young and he is always getting into fights and ending up in the Police cells. Snork, well, we're not told too much about Snork, apart from the fact that he's a bit stupid and he works at the railway station. Freddie's boss, Mr Kendrick, has a daughter, Julie, who is engaged to Freddie's co-worker, Mike Ramsay. They went to school together many years ago and still have a bit of a rapport together. The story revolves around these characters and their ambitions, for one reason or another, to get out of the place they are in. Will they all make it? Or is there something, or someone, to keep them in Cemetery Junction? Guess I had better not say any more or I'll be banged up in the cells with Bruce by the Spoiler Police.Decent performances all round, although nobody was really stretched. Christian Cooke was OK as Freddie Taylor, Tom Hughes did a good job as the brooding Bruce Pearson and Jack Doolan provided the comic relief as Snork. Ralph Fiennes as Mr. Kendrick, Ricky Gervais as Mr. Taylor and Felicity Jones as Julie were all OK without being stretched too much. There were two notable performances though (IMO); I thought both Emily Watson as the downtrodden Mrs Kendrick and Steve Speirs as Sgt. Wyn Davies both did an excellent job.I found the film, as a whole, a bit hit and miss. There were hints of the excellence shown in the writing of 'Extras', but it never really quite developed in the way I was expecting. It is set in the 1970's and the moods, styles and the attitudes of the time are very well portrayed. Also the music is great with many hits from the period featuring. At the end of the day I guess it's worth a look if you liked 'Extras', but if you're an avid fan of 'The Office' maybe give this one a miss.My Score: 6.3/10