Giving It the Old College Lie
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The new English romantic comedy “Starter for 10” yearns for the era of John Hughes, but it fails to make a case for itself among the great student romances.
Adapted by David Nicholls from his own novel, “Starter for 10” follows the travails of Bristol University student Brian Jackson (James McAvoy), who is a bit of a prat. He’s always wanted to be clever, but he pursues knowledge by compiling quotes he can regurgitate at will and use to effect on quiz shows.
Produced by Tom Hanks, “Starter” depicts Brian’s first year at Bristol as he strives to succeed in life and love. Desperate to prove he is a “general knowledge God,” he joins Bristol’s University Challenge team and falls for his blond teammate, Alice (Alice Eve). Unsurprisingly, he overlooks the brainy brunette named Rebecca (Rebecca Hall), who takes a liking to him.
Mr. Nicholls uses this most basic of romantic comedy tropes to address the idiosyncrasies of English university life. The director Tom Vaughan shows Brian’s transition from his working class life in Essex to the intellectual variety of his new surroundings.
The paucity of quintessentially English films depicting college life is surprising. From “Animal House” to “Old School,” Americans have documented the embarrassments and travails of the college experience with each passing decade. Set in the mid-1980s, “Starter” harkens back to the Brat Pack films of Mr. Hughes.
Borrowing the vibrant university aesthetic and new wave soundtrack from last year’s award-winning play-turned-film “The History Boys,” “Starter” even pinches two of the stars from that film (Dominic Cooper and James Corden). But the intricately woven characters and plot development of Alan Bennett’s work are lacking here.
Brian believes that looking like an intellectual is the same as being one. Mostly innocuous but accident-prone, he arrives at Bristol in his late father’s worn corduroy blazer and prepares to reinvent himself in his new setting.
Mr. Nicholls is fascinated with Brian’s aspirations of grandeur and the absurd situations he gets himself into. Brian gets drunk, tries to impress the ladies with his knowledge of great books, and puts posters on the wall of clichéd literary and political figures. He manages not to make any friends at college other than the two girls he pursues, and doesn’t seem to have much affinity for his best mates from home (Messrs. Cooper and Corden). Given the opportunity, Brian ruins every good fortune that comes his way.
Mr. McAvoy, who held his own impressively opposite Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland,” has a broad faced, trusting appeal, but Brian still comes off as what his high school friends accuse him of being: a wanker. The main problem with making the lead character into a believable prat is that it’s difficult to sympathize with him.
Brian hearkens back to the sort of slacker that conquered audiences in 1980s classics like “Say Anything” and “Pretty in Pink,” but he never achieves the same appeal. John Cusacks, as Lloyd Dobler, had a sweet earnestness that has survived generations of high school girl crushes. Brian, on the other hand, uses his stockpile of quotes and information to impress and win over any girl who will have him. Often he amuses only himself, as when he runs into Rebecca on the way to a protest on New Year’s Eve and quips, “I think the lady doth protest too much.”
Brian’s mundane nature seems to be his charm, but squirming through his various failed schemes becomes tiring, and the choice between Alice and Rebecca seems so obvious that the plot comes off as a remedial lesson in English college life.
Despite all this, “Starter” is blessed with some beautiful cinematography, a soundtrack that will make you yearn for Thatcherite England, and a very talented young cast. Thankfully, it does not exploit the 1980s era for its absurdities, but Alice does get to make some inspired fashion choices. Ms. Hall imbues Rebecca with wit and charm despite her unfortunate and clichéd obsession with socialism, and Mr. Cooper brings the trademark heat that he utilized in “The History Boys” to the underbaked character of Brian’s best friend, Spencer.
There are also moments of comedic brilliance in the University Challenge competition scenes. Mark Gatiss is a dead ringer for University Challenge host, Bamber Gascoigne, and the captain of the rival challenge team (Robert Cawsey) makes some of the most inspired faces caught on film.
Still, despite its shining moments, “Starter for 10” fails to live up to its potential.
