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Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging (Film)
Rating: PG
Running Time: 100
Country: UK
Cast: Georgia Groome, Georgia Henshaw, Liam Hess, Aaron Johnson, Kimberley Nixon, Karen Taylor, Eleanor Tomlinson
Distributor: Paramount
Film Worth: $11.50
Release Date: September 18, 2008
"…charming and funny…"
Angus is a cat. Thongs are not footwear. And Perfect Snogging is something that may or may not be learned from Peter Dyer (Liam Hess in a bad wig), a schoolboy who has a poster of Hugh Grant in his bedroom and gives kissing lessons to teenage girls. Peter is only a minor player, but one with a crush on the central character, Georgia Nicolson, who’s portrayed with admirable verve by an intuitive Georgia Groome (London To Brighton). The fourteen-year-old heroine thinks that her parents are from The Stone Age, her little sister is “bonkers” and her school’s a “loony bin”. She doesn’t like the way that she looks, she’s not the coolest kid in class, and she fancies fellow cat-lover Robbie (Aaron Johnson, The Illusionist), who’s dating the blonde school bully. In short, Georgia is a typically tormented teenager, and this is a fairly predictable coming-of-age comedy/drama – but an extremely charming and funny one that is completely engaging.
Based on the young adult books by English writer Louise Rennison, directed by Gurinder Chadha, and mostly co-written by Chadha and husband Paul Mayeda Berges (the team behind Bend It Like Beckham), the screenplay gives the film its solid backbone. Georgia and her friends’ dialogue is loaded with hilarious Brit teen vernacular, and memorable lines tumble from their adolescent mouths. The film’s English seaside-town backdrop gives it a freshness, and it was largely shot on location in Brighton and Eastbourne (where it’s set). The cast are all good (some better than others), but this film could only work if the audience falls for Georgia – and we certainly do. Relative newcomer Georgia Groome simply shines. You don’t need to be a teenager to enjoy this – you just have to remember being one.