Cemetery Junction

I saw Cemetery Junction today. This is the first Ricky-Gervais/Stephen-Merchant film. Boy could you tell it was theirs. From listening to their sense of humor in their podcasts to watching extras, this film oozed of their fingerprints. Not that this film is a comedy. There are quite a lot of funny moments--almost all of them inappropriate because it's a contrast between the immaturity of the youth they're trying to leave behind and the respectable adult world--but it's a drama. It's a somewhat autobiographical drama about Reading, the town where Ricky Gervais grew up. The premise is that there are these few young adults who are feeling trapped in this tiny little town and want to make it in the real world, but are somehow stuck in this rut that doesn't allow them to leave. It's interesting knowing that this is about Ricky's hometown because he did go from a very modest background to being ultra rich and successful. And yet, he's not saying that it is good or bad to leave your tiny town that you've never set foot out of, because some of the characters in the movie stay in Reading for good reasons and some leave for good reasons. You get this sense in the end that it's not about staying or leaving, but it's a personal thing--you need to do what is best for you.

It's hard to really give an in depth review of this film because it does exactly what it says on the tin. You can watch the trailer. It's not hiding anything. It doesn't make the movie look better than it is, but it also doesn't hide any surprises. It holds together. No plot holes or character inconsistencies. Little bit of drama. Little bit of mildly crude humor.

Lot of good actors. Haven't seen any of the main characters in it, but Ralph Fiennes plays the boss, Ricky Gervais plays the dad. You also get a cameo from Stephen Merchant and one shot of Karl Pilkington. The cops are Steve Speirs (Extras) and Burn Gorman (Torchwood).

Worth seeing once at least.

You can click the link above for the trailer. Here's part of the blooper reel. (This scene did not end up in the movie, by the way.)