What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)

Life really is too short you know... What We Did on Our Holiday is written and directed by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. It stars Rosamund Pike, David Tennant, Billy Connolly, Ben Miller, Amelia Bullmore, Emilia Jones, Bobby Smalldridge, Harriet Turnbull and Celia Imrie. Music is by Alex Heffes and cinematography by Martin Hawkins. "The truth is, every human being on this planet is ridiculous in their own way. So we shouldn't judge, we shouldn't fight, because in the end... in the end, none of it matters. None of the stuff" Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin spin off from their hugely popular sit-com, Outnumbered, to produce this funny, philosophical and moving picture. Tennant and Pike play parents of three young children, they are pending a divorce, but with Doug's (Tennant) father, Gordie (Connolly), dying of cancer, the family head to Scotland for what will surely be his last birthday party. Hoping to put on a united front so as to not upset Gordie any further, nobody could envisage what was to happen next... It's a film that some no doubt find easy to kick, such is the uncomplicated structure used, and the formula of messaging that drives it forward. Yet sometimes uncomplicated is all you need, and in this day and age of mega-buck blockbusters and soulless frat type comedies grasping at sex for laughs, this is a film of refreshing qualities. It's superbly performed by what is a top notch group of adult British actors, who in turn are supplemented by three child actors so natural and engaging it makes you wonder if acting school is really needed? It's obviously a piece that will resonate more with those who have been touched/stung by the thematics at work, while the comedy ticking away - with some truly great lines uttered - could seem a bit off kilter for the unprepared, but hopefully more will watch it, laugh and cry and ultimately realise that life really is too short for, well, you get the picture I'm sure. 8/10

This is a well written, gently comedic and poignant look at divorce and loss that raises quite a few smiles along the way. David Tennant and Rosamund Pike are a couple with three kids who head to Scotland to meet his father "Geordie" (Sir Billy Connolly) to help celebrate his 75th birthday. It'd be fair to describe the adults in the film as pretty dysfunctional, saving for Connolly and Annette Crosbie ("Doreen") who take a pragmatic, matter of fact view on life, and from whom much of the humour emanates. Grandad takes the kids for a trip to the beach and the plot hits the faintly, but engagingly, ridiculous as they all have to deal with some unexpected consequences. The performances from the three children are good; especially "Lottie" (Emilia Jones) and a strong cast of Scots regulars - Celia Imrie, Ralph Riach and Ron Donachie help us navigate through the selfish behaviour of the squabbling parents tempered by the innocence and common sense of their offspring. It's got some lovely scenic shots from the Gairloch and of the beautiful Wester Ross scenery and well, it's all just a bit different!