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HOW TO HAVE SEX TBC
Summer loving…
★★★★★ OUT 3 NOVEMBER CINEMAS
Teenage kicks get a timely #MeToo treatment in writer/ director Molly Manning Walker’s punchy first feature, a vividly shot, sharp-eyed take on the drunken post- GCSE Mediterranean getaway that’s traditionally a frenzied, Inbetweeners-style rite of passage for British teens.
Hungry for parties, passion and fishbowl cocktails, BFFs Em (Enva Lewis), Skye (Lara Peake) and Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce) throw themselves recklessly into Malia’s frenetic tourist nightlife. Walker’s fearless camera dives after them into bacchanalian pool parties, shrieking karaoke sessions and neon-strobed bars thumping with EDM. When they team up with their hard-partying hotel neighbours, goofy Badger (The Selfish Giant’s Shaun Thomas) and self-styled shagger Paddy (Samuel Bottomley), the film skilfully tracks the sudden cracks in the trio’s friendship, as they vie for these Northern likely lads’ attention.
Tensions are ratcheted even higher when bubbly Tara, the baby of the group, finds herself unwittingly swept into a chaotic night or two of bad choices and tough truths. Alongside the wild carousing and sweary banter, Walker’s unflinching close-ups of McKenna-Bruce’s wary, watchful face showcase how her piercing performance covers Tara’s disorientation with wobbly bravado. Refusing to become a cautionary tale, the film explores the pitfalls as well as the pleasures of teen-holiday hook-ups; it also brings a fresh, female POV to the subject of sexual consent. KATE STABLES
THE VERDICT This eye-catching, Cannes-crowned tale offers a complex, authentic take on teen hedonism.
QUIZ LADY TBC
Family feud…
★★★★★ OUT 3 NOVEMBER DISNEY+
Sometimes you can just sense that two actors will make a great on-screen duo. And so it proves with Awkwafina and Sandra Oh in this extremely likeable Disney+ comedy. They play chalk-and-cheese sisters who are brought back together when their mother’s gambling debts require a get-rich-quick scheme. The fastest way to recoup some cash? Get the nerdy, insular Anne (Awkwafina) to compete on the TV quiz show she’s been obsessed with her whole life. Wild-child older sis Jenny (Oh) eggs her on, while their personalities clash and past tensions still simmer.
Yes, it’s extremely formulaic – you could predict all the major plot beats and emotional moments with the same automatic precision Anne uses to answer all the questions on Can’t Stop the Quiz from her sofa but it’s so consistently funny and the leads such a winning pair that it doesn’t really matter. Whether they’re at each other’s throats or finding common ground, Awkwafina and Oh are a hoot.
Will Ferrell (also a producer) adds to the charm as the avuncular longterm host of the show, while Jason Schwartzman smarms it up as a contestant on a record-breaking winning streak. Director Jessica Yu (best known for documentaries and prolific TV work) directs in an unshowy way, allowing the simple concept to serve the star chemistry and handling the surreal OTT flourishes with a light touch.
THE VERDICT A highly appealing comedy that makes good use of its playing-against-type leads. Like your favourite quiz show, this is easy, cosy couch-viewing.