The Nan Movie

I will start by saying that this movie is, probably, about 10 years too late. Had this been made early '10's, I can imagine a better response. The jokes are outdated and we've heard them all before. The 'present' scenes are predictable though I found the ending to be really good.

The 'past' scenes I thought were amazing, and my four stars are for them. The movie would have been better going down the route of Nan telling Jamie about the past without a road trip, then ending with the meeting. Catherine and Katherine did a good job in those scenes.

The worst part was, by far, the out of place and ridiculous animation that bought nothing to the movie.

So, would I recommend the film?

Sober - No.

After a few drinks - Sure.

Go in with low expectations and I think you'll enjoy the movie due to the flashbacks.

This is what happens when you try to turn a 5 minute sketch character into a feature length movie.

I enjoyed the Nan character but I did wonder where it could go beyond Nan being outrageous, rude and grumpy.

And that is essentially how the film goes. The first 10 minutes are amusing and then I found myself questioning what the point of it all was. In trying to make Nan a more rounded character they lose most of what made her funny and there isn't enough good dialogue or material to justify or sustain the feature length run time.

There's is a message in there somewhere and there is surprisingly some emotion in the back story but it gets muddled alongside being kidnapped by a mentally ill vegan and followed by a dubious scouser.

I was never much of a Catherine Tate fan. I remember her programme being popular years ago and recall her stints on Doctor Who and the Office (US). I cannnot understand why around 10-15 years after she was relevant in UK popular culture there has been a movie made bringing one of her old characters out of retirement. Their is surely not enough of an appetite for this even amongst avid viewers at the time. Despite this I went along for a Sunday viewing and was pretty appaled with the quality on display. The jokes mainly fall flat and the story just becomes tediously boring. The constant flashbacks are dull for the most part and I didn't find the character of Nan herself to be likeable or interesting. That laugh was really getting on my t*ts. There is all the usual tropes of a rubbish comedy film- scene where unassuming character takes hardcore drugs, some poorly-edited action scenes to break up the jokes and of course a stupid looking vechile for the leads to travel about in from one mind numbingly dull scene to the next.

Also, Nan looks at least 30 in the early 1940s but can still crowdsurf in a giant rave like its nothing. Should she not be over 100?? Sadly I would suggest giving this one a hard swerve. Comedy movies rarely come out these days and efforts like this do nothing to serve the cause.

The film was slated for release pre-pandemic, and as a fan of the Nan character I had been very much looking forward to watching this. I was very disappointed. The various scenes did not flow, and the overall story was very weak.

Wait for it to come to a streaming platform before you maybe watch it.

To this day I still watch the Nan sketches, some of the funniest comedy made over the last twenty years, she is outrageous, I was really keen to see how the character would translate to a full length movie.

Sadly, it's not a good movie, in fact it's actually quite a bad movie, it just doesn't work, the sketches work because they're sharp, punchy, and done in a way that shocks you, and has you belly laughing, the same cannot be said here, the laughs just didn't land.

A kind of origins story, one which tried to explain the story of Joanie's fractured relationship with her sister. Several faces pop up, including the large guy, and miserable woman from the council, but sadly none of the elements worked.

The laughs just didn't land, and the story just wasn't interesting enough. The half hour sketch format works so much better, and hopefully she'll do another soon.

There is no denying the talent of Catherine Tate, she's terrific, and I can't wait to see the return of Donna Noble, this though, sadly didn't work 3/10.