With British sitcom Outnumbered, creators Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin hit on the wonderful idea of keeping their hilarious and often realistic portrayal of family life semi-imporovisational, with the adult actors working from the script while the children were given last minute instructions by the writers before each take. For their debut as a big screen directing duo, the pair carry the formula over with What We Did On Our Holiday, and while it's not entirely perfect, for the most part it works.
This could have easily been an Outnumbered movie, but with that story told on the small screen, we get a new family, made of David Tennant's and Rosamund Pike's constantly battling Doug and Abi, and their three moppets who watch on distraught from the sidelines, unable to fully comprehend why their parents live in separate houses. When they travel to Scotland to celebrate Doug's ill father Gordie's (Billy Connoly) 75th birthday, the adults struggle to keep their dissolving marriage a secret, but soon the weekend spirals out of their control.
There is a lot of charm and humour on display in What We Did on Our Holiday, run through with a subversive streak which keeps things from becoming overly sentimental. The movie chugs along at a good pace, with plenty here to keep you chuckling, with the kids stealing the show in any scene they're in. Much like Outnumbered, Hamilton and Jenkin keep things small and believable, for the most part. The movie hits a lull in the second act, before shaking it off with a predictable, but no less heart breaking, development which sets up the third act, which gets a bit too big and unwieldy, at odds with the smaller family drama that came before it. The darker plot lines, from depression to dealing with impending death, sit uneasily in relation to the rest of the movie, and aren't really fully developed, most of them seemingly forgotten as soon as they are introduced, only to be tied up neatly and quickly as the movie rushes towards the closing credits.
The likable and reliable cast keep this ticking over, with Tennant and Pike are entirely believable as we watch them rage at each other one minute, then try to cover it up in a wonderfully British way the next. Their interactions with the kids are hilarious, most often they are left staring dumb struck at what escapes the young actors mouth. Connoly puts in a heart breaking and poignant performance as Gordie, putting on a brave face as he deals with terminal illness, his humour undercut with a deep sadness. Rounding out the cast are Tim Miller and Amelia Bullmore, who provide able support as Doug's brother and his wife.
Infinitely charming, What We Did on Our Holiday does a good job of carrying over the winning Outnumbered formula, though loses its way as the end beckons.
This could have easily been an Outnumbered movie, but with that story told on the small screen, we get a new family, made of David Tennant's and Rosamund Pike's constantly battling Doug and Abi, and their three moppets who watch on distraught from the sidelines, unable to fully comprehend why their parents live in separate houses. When they travel to Scotland to celebrate Doug's ill father Gordie's (Billy Connoly) 75th birthday, the adults struggle to keep their dissolving marriage a secret, but soon the weekend spirals out of their control.
There is a lot of charm and humour on display in What We Did on Our Holiday, run through with a subversive streak which keeps things from becoming overly sentimental. The movie chugs along at a good pace, with plenty here to keep you chuckling, with the kids stealing the show in any scene they're in. Much like Outnumbered, Hamilton and Jenkin keep things small and believable, for the most part. The movie hits a lull in the second act, before shaking it off with a predictable, but no less heart breaking, development which sets up the third act, which gets a bit too big and unwieldy, at odds with the smaller family drama that came before it. The darker plot lines, from depression to dealing with impending death, sit uneasily in relation to the rest of the movie, and aren't really fully developed, most of them seemingly forgotten as soon as they are introduced, only to be tied up neatly and quickly as the movie rushes towards the closing credits.
The likable and reliable cast keep this ticking over, with Tennant and Pike are entirely believable as we watch them rage at each other one minute, then try to cover it up in a wonderfully British way the next. Their interactions with the kids are hilarious, most often they are left staring dumb struck at what escapes the young actors mouth. Connoly puts in a heart breaking and poignant performance as Gordie, putting on a brave face as he deals with terminal illness, his humour undercut with a deep sadness. Rounding out the cast are Tim Miller and Amelia Bullmore, who provide able support as Doug's brother and his wife.
Infinitely charming, What We Did on Our Holiday does a good job of carrying over the winning Outnumbered formula, though loses its way as the end beckons.
