Georgia is not having a good time, at fifteen her burgeoning womanhood is being stifled by her mother (Karen Taylor), father (Alan Davies) and her inability to get the man of her dreams, Robbie. If this wasn’t bad enough Georgia’s plans to hold her fifteenth birthday party in a local nightclub seems to be blocked as every juncture. Things look a little better when her father has to go to New Zealand for his promotion, even though the effect on her mother is somewhat unsavoury...

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008, 1 hr, 36 min, 4 sec) is a British teen comedy directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend it like Beckham, 2002) and the two films have much in common in their sensitive and amusing look at the problems of growing up in a world that doesn’t understand you, especially parents. The film was adapted from two novels by Louise Rennison: Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging and It’s OK, I’m Wearing Really Big Knickers!

A British comedy is a hard thing to pull off; a good one even harder. Luckily Angus is a perfect English comedy which celebrates all the idiosyncrasies of the English, their attitude towards their children and their mating habits. Not to be unkind to Georgia Nicolson, who plays the lead, the movie is your basic ugly duckling story. Can she overcome the competition from the pretty girls to get her man? Will she get the party of her dreams? Well what do you think?

What really makes the film is the charm offensive from Nicolson, whose performance really makes you care about these questions. There is an honesty in her portrayal that makes you really feel for the poor girl, whether she is competing with her slaggy nemesis Lindsey (Kimberley Nixon), who has her talons into the object of Georgia’s pubescent lust Robbie (Aaron Johnson). Her part is complemented well by Eleanor Tomlinson who plays her best friend Jas, who ends up dating Robbie's brother, Tom (Sean Bourke). Chandha even gives a knowing nod to Kiera Knightly’s role in Bend it like Beckham.

The disc has a veritable cornucopia of extras to choose from. First up is a full length commentary by the director and the girls who play Ellen, Jas and Georgia. For the rest here is a little run down:

Double Cool with Knobs On (27 min, 26 sec) which is a look at the film with lots of input from the cast and crew, as well as some shots of the film being made. Well worth a look as the actresses seem to be a delightful as people as they were as characters.

Looking After Angus (3 min, 40 sec) is a character piece on Angus, who is the cat in the film. An aggressive looking thing which apparently didn’t mind being dressed up by Libby, Georgia’s three year old sister. They even trained the poor thing to suck a dummy. But worry not, as an owner of five cats, I didn’t get the feeling that Angus was having anything other than a ball.

First Kisses (2 min, 44 sec) is a closer look at Georgia's first snogging scene with the local snogging teacher.

Working with Gurinder (2 min, 46 sec) sees the cast talking about what it's like to work with their director. Strangely no one has a bad word to say about her.

Angus Video Diaries. There are six of these, which range from impromptu questions to the cast, to forty-six seconds of Angus’ arse running around the set.

Next up are featurettes which look behind the scenes at the people whose work makes the whole film come together. Thongs, Bras, Lippie and Other Life-saving Essentials (3 min, 16 sec) which features the costume designer talking about her role in the film. Getting the Angus Look (2 min, 6 sec) with Dick Pope discussing the role of cinematographer and Step inside the Nicolson Household (3 min, 15 sec) has Nick Ellis talking about the role of the production designer.

The extras are wrapped up with First Night Nerves (2 min, 3 sec) which takes a quick peek at the premier of the film. There are nine deleted scenes for your delectation, a bunch of Bloopers (5 min, 59 sec) and a gallery of pics. Lastly there is Stiff Dylans Music Video “Ultraviolet” (3 min, 37 sec).

Ok, so this is a chick flick - a teenage chick flick at that and a little cliched, but under the sure hands of Gurinder Chadha what we have here is a very warm, endearing film that really can be enjoyed by all the family. Great film, great extras.

10

Charles Packer