听 Things To Do Before You're 30 is a British comedy drama that dares to be "neither funny nor insightful". Dougray Scott and Jimi Mistry are among a wasted ensemble of blokey blokes who meet every weekend to play football and put off the business of committing to their womenfolk. There were just too many missed opportunities for critics to count and it barely registered with summer audiences.
He Kicks, He Misses...
Somewhere in two reels of cast and crew interviews, director Simon Shore manages to keep a straight face while talking about the "range and depth of the characters" that attracted him to the script. Frankly we're surprised that screenwriter Patrick Wilde even shows his face, but here he is, draped in black, cigarette dangling casually between his fingers as he tries to convince us that this work has some kind of artistic merit. It's enough to make Gordon Brown close a few more tax loops...
Going Dutch
Speaking on location, producer Marc Samuelson sounds pretty sure this will be a hit as the script is actually based on a Dutch film that was very successful on its home turf (called All Stars). On the other hand it feels like Shore has a pretty good idea that it's going to be rubbish and shifts the blame onto his cast. "The acting," he insists, "is the most important thing really" - assuring us that all he can do is point the camera and wait for the magic to happen. Mistry says that actually it's not that easy trying to convince an audience that you're among a group of friends who've known each other for over 20 years.
Scott and the other key players (Emilia Fox, Shaun Parkes etc) also pop up for comment, but the reels are cobbled together in snippets that don't allow for an in-depth look at the story and its themes. Or perhaps that's because the film is just lacking in story. In any case, this is definitely one DVD to scratch off your to-do list.
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