What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)

Touches You

One of my all time favorites.

Good concept, poorly executed.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The old saw is that families come together in crises, but we all know there is an equal chance that they will come apart. Rarely is it mentioned that both can occur, as is true in this gem of a movie. Even more rare is the notion of a joyous death, a death occurring in the middle of one's most cherished pursuits, spending time with grandchildren. More rare still (if not unprecedented) is that death can be celebrated with creativity and connection coming from children, who are ordinarily shielded from its realities, but who can not only rise to the occasion but, with their own mythologies, transcend it.It does not hurt that the adult cast is stellar nor does it hurt that the countryside is immeasurably beautiful nor that the child performers are the most adept wise fools and truth tellers to be seen in decades.I did not intend to write about this movie. I wanted to keep it as a secret for myself, to watch as the spirit might insist. Yet when I saw the anemic professional reviews, I felt compelled to speak up. So, if nothing else, the less than resounding applause from the professional front has shaken me loose from my selfishness and forced me to declare that all movie watchers everywhere would likely find something of delight in this film: see it!

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

The British are masters of comedy and What We Did on Our Holiday is living proof of it, from the first seconds of the film that announces "sitcom", through skillful broaching common knowledge "important life lessons" to "feel-good" ends. All of this is located in the typical context of extended dysfunctional family, but it's done in a manic pace and makes it a pleasure to watch. Entire idea is totally funny. What We Did on Our Holiday would be excellent in a form of fun mini-series. It's great that functions as a film, no matter the expected decline in a middle, and the fact it requires a considerable departure from reality. The screenwriter/director duo obviously knows how the story should go, and What We Did on Our Holiday is a very fine movie experience, nothing spectacular, but certainly comfortable.

Pro tip: like "Ondine" - the Irish fairy tale story about seal people - you are going to need to turn on your close captioning to fight your way through the Scottish accents in this family dramedy about a family falling apart. It will be well worth it as the film includes a host of excellent one-liners often delivered by children (Father: "so you have a big rock that protects you from other big rocks?" Daughter: "yes, just like in real life."). The surprisingly aging comedian Billy Connelley plays the dying patriarch whom the family goes to visit on their holiday as the parent cope to create a soft landing for the children from their impending divorce. Hilarity ensues. Much of it that farcical manners comedy where people act in a way that best serves the comedy rather than reflecting the actual way people behave. Given the age of the children, some of the divorce drama (Pike's character screams: "Wallace is the name of the man I'm screwing" in front of them) gets uncomfortable and when played for laughs makes the audience uncomfortable. Still, anything the exquisite Pike stars in can't not be worth viewing. In short, a good little foreign film if you can follow the dialog.