[HEADING=1]AvsViews presents: Ricky Gervais' Cemetery Junction, a review of the film in celebration of my 10,000th post.[/HEADING][HEADING=2]By: Joseph J. "AvsJoe" Archibald[/HEADING]
Congratulations on finding this Easter Egg! Happy Easter everyone!
The story primarily follows 3 young adults just entering the workforce: Freddie, Bruce, and the wonderfully named Snork. They grew up together and are best friends but they are vastly different people. Though all three wish to get out of Cemetery Junction, a working-class neighbourhood, only Freddie takes steps to do so. He comes from a blue-collar family, something the viewers can always see in him, but he yearns to become more upper-class, taking a white-collar insurance job and trying to better his position in life. Bruce, on the other hand, works in a factory making little money. He enjoys alcohol and has a bit of a temper, meaning he makes several trips to the drunk tank. The only reason that he doesn't get in greater trouble for his actions is because the local Sergeant is a friend of Bruce's father, a man whom Bruce despises. There is little to say about Snork except that he's a vulgar little pervert who provides a vast amount of the film's humour.
As the film progresses, you see the characters growing up and growing apart. Freddie's upper-class intentions put him at odds with his family and friends; he instead looks up to his very successful co-worker, Mike, played by Matthew Goode, and his boss, Mr Kendrick, played with the perfect amount of condescending superiority by Ralph Fiennes. Complicating things, he also has eyes for the boss' artistic and travel-obsessed daughter, Julie, a childhood friend whom is currently engaged to Mike. Bruce continues to struggle with the law while trying desperately not to become like his old man. Among other things he gets into multiple fights and gets caught defacing a real estate advertisement. Snork continues fruitlessly trying to get laid but wrestles with his feelings for a homely young waitress.
There are a few things worthy of praise in Cemetery Junction. The soundtrack is full of 70's rock classics, the film is shot with the cinematography of the 70's in mind, and English funnyman David Earl steals the show in a small supporting role. The film has many things working against it, though. The previously-mentioned slow-burn pace means that many scenes seem to drag on and because of the sheer number of plot lines, many don't get the attention and/or screen time they deserve. The film's ending also leaves a lot to be desired. But otherwise the film is solid but unspectacular in most respects.
Cemetery Junction is your standard coming-of-age story. That's it. The only thing that separates it from the 15 or 20 coming-of-age stories that Hollywood churns out every year is the fact that it's English and set in the 1970's. It's pretty cookie-cutter as far as these things go; everything in the film is done well, but has been done better in other movies. The actors in the film put out good to great performances, including legendary comedian Ricky Gervais and Watchmen's Matthew Goode, but the performances are not enough to make the film stand out. It's an enjoyable but entirely forgettable movie.
AvsJoe's Rating: Barely squeaked out a 4 out of 5, or B-
Recommendation: Worth a look if there's nothing better on the telly.
Final thoughts: Nothing really. I hope you leave a comment or two and I welcome all criticism, constructive or otherwise. Any tips on how I can improve my style will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all and if I don't see you again, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!
I also hope that Marter doesn't get too annoyed that I'm ripping off his style. But, hey, imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?
