Movieline's Hollywood Life
"Best of all is Rebecca Hall as an activist with a sense of humor....[She] exudes the charm and panache of a young Maggie Smith." 01/01/2007 p.98New York Times
"[A]n amiable, nostalgic British comedy....[The film] tackles a lofty subject -- the allure of knowledge -- with down-to-earth charm." 02/23/2007 p.E22 Rolling Stone
3 stars out of 5 -- "A cheeky comedy with sex and smarts...All the actors are spot on..." 03/08/2007 p.96 Entertainment Weekly
"There's a tidiness and affection to this British homage to John Hughes movies..." -- Grade: B 03/02/2007 p.51 Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "You don't need to be remember The Buzzcocks, Kate Bush or Bamber Gascoigne to be charmed by this laugher set in the mid-'80s." 07/01/2007 p.103 Ultimate DVD
3 stars out of 5 -- "STARTER FOR 10 is set in 1985 during Thatcher's reign in power and as such almost makes a lighter companion piece for THE HISTORY BOYS....Worth seeing." 05/01/2007 p.120 Film Comment
"[With] a fine performance from McAvoy and spot on period detail, bolstered by a great soundtrack of Eighties classics from the Cure, the Smiths, New Order, et al." 07/01/2007 p.77 ReelViews 7 of 10
Starter for 10 is a mildly enjoyable romantic comedy that stays within the safe bounds of the genre's formula. This is a British film, which may make it feel a little quirky to American viewers. The problem with it, to the extent that there is a problem, is that the movie is only sporadically funny and lacking in the romance department. The love story is perfunctory, and seems present more-or-less because the film bears the "romantic comedy" label, and it's hard to be a "romantic comedy" without some kind of love interest...It will be hard to find anyone who actively dislikes Starter for 10. This isn't the kind of film to generate passion one way or the other. It has a small film's appeal, although there are some big guns behind it...Words like "nice" and "pleasant" are appropriate, although I may have stifled a yawn or two during the proceedings. The acting is solid, with McAvoy and Rebecca Hall doing nice jobs, even though there's not a lot of chemistry between them. Alice Eve manages to keep her character from falling into the stereotype pit, although she spends some time teetering on the edge. To me, this is the kind of movie that's more deserving of a rental than a trip to a movie theater, although I have definitely seen worse this year. - James Berardinelli
Reel.com 8 of 10
Brian Jackson (James McAvoy) admits that he's not necessarily the smartest guy in the room, but his brain is crammed full of information and he's always eager to learn more. "Knowledge is power. I want to know everything," he says at the outset of Tom Vaughn's smart, funny, 1980s-era coming-of-age comedy, Starter for Ten. Brian is about to leave his working-class Essex home for life at Bristol University, where he expects to gather more knowledge. However, he ends up learning lessons that he never expected...An excellent ensemble cast surrounds McAvoy. Especially good is Hall as the no-nonsense Rebecca; Cooper as the troubled, jealous Spencer; and the hilarious Benedict Cumberbatch, as the humorless, perpetually peeved Patrick, the captain of Bristol's University Challenge team. But the success of this film lives or dies on one actor's shoulders, and The Chronicles of Narnia's Mr. Tumnus carries that burden with ease, delivering a measured performance that captures the many shades of Brian's personality, from the exasperating to the completely endearing. Starter for Ten benefits from an inviting story, but it's McAvoy's lively performance that lends the movie its engaging buoyancy. - Pam Grady
|
