by Shane Conto, Staff Writer
What happens when a character from a sketch comedy gets their own feature length film? Most of the time… it doesn’t end well. There have been plenty of SNL films over the years, and not many reach the heights of The Blue Brothers. Honestly, most of them are like The Blues Brothers 2000. But America doesn’t have exclusivity on sketch characters getting their own feature film. Catherine Tate takes one of her most beloved characters from The Catherine Tate Show and brings her to the big screen with The Nan Movie. Tate (who you might know as Nellie from The Office) gives her grumpy old lady, Nan, the chance to shine.
What result do you get from having two talented writers like Tate and Brett Goldstein teaming up? You would honestly hope for a lot more. The story is simple, as Nan and her grandson go on a road trip to Ireland to try to rebuild her relationship with her sister. What happened, you might ask? They fought over the same man, which is explained through a series of flashbacks. But what laces this crazy road trip are low brow gags and stale jokes. You will be quite disappointed by how obnoxious and unfunny much of this film is. The talent behind writing is much too good for this kind of product. The narrative threads are loose, and the film feels like a mess. Nothing feels like it comes together until the last 15 minutes, but it is much too late at that point.
What is the biggest concern with this comedy? The tone. The film is silly for most of the time that Nan and her grandson are on their road trip. One of the first signs of issues is when the flashbacks come and make you feel like you are watching a completely different film. The energy and approach are so different that they feel conflicting. But that is not the extent. There are some absurdist sequences which are presented with paper cutouts with insane and over-the-top action. These sequences seem fun, but they clash so hard with other elements of the film. The last 15 minutes or so is where the biggest tonal issue rears its ugly head. There is some well-structured and well-directed staging for a big emotional climax, but the film did such a bad job of making us care about these characters that these big emotions fall on deaf ears.
But is the talent in front of the camera just as disappointing? Tate is all in with her performance as Nan. She is raunchy, crazy, and unhinged. She sure has plenty of charisma to make the role work. Mathew Horne has a tough go with trying to be the straight man as her grandson, but he does an admirable job. Katherine Parkinson seems to be having fun as Nan’s estranged sister and does the best with mostly uninspired material. One supporting standout is Ebony Maw himself, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, who is a bit of an unhinged character that they meet along the way on their journey.
Was The Nan Movie a good argument for making feature films with beloved characters? Unfortunately, this film continues a long line of other films that just don’t earn their opportunity and waste a beloved character. You can tell that Tate has plenty of passion for this character and has plenty of fun portraying her. It just would have been nice to have a meaningful story to wrap around her… and some laughs to boot.
Score: 3/10
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