City Slacker (2012)

Just perfect...

Excellent but underrated film

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

This is a low budget British Rom Com starring Fiona Gillies as a corporate high flier in her 40s who has to find a suitable man to impregnate her and raise the child.The situation is accelerated as her frozen eggs were destroyed when the clinic storing it caught fire, her boyfriend of many years (Adrian Lukis) has no interest in wanting kids with her and she wants in effect a house husband.Things are complicated when she meets Geoffrey Streatfield in a park and they seem to hit it off and at the same time her father (Tom Conti) moves in with her. By losing her focus on her job she finds that she might be a victim of some corporate shenanigans.The film is also produced by Gillies and written by her husband Michael Muller. So its a labour of love for these two and it is nice to see Gillies having a starring role when in the late 1980s and early 90s she looked like she might become a major television star.The film is likable, it has managed to get a good original songs and soundtrack and it is refreshing to find a British rom com where they do not match a big British star with an American star. However despite some comedy, low key romance and corporate adventures it does look more like a nice television movie, watchable which happily passes the time. All the actors are clearly putting a lot of effort in the film which is to be commended.

This film is a real treasure. Well written and directed, it is thoroughly entertaining. The film is perfectly cast with fine performances. Fiona Gillies is brilliant as the high flying executive who longs for a baby in addition to her career and Tom Conti excels as her father. Adrian Lukis is hilarious as the 'bad guy' and provides the comic relief to the drama as the film progresses.A special mention has to be made of the music score by Geoff Jackson. The soundtrack is beautiful and the music enhances the film completely. It was also interesting to see the various locations in London and the film was a perfect showcase for the city. A must-see movie!

It's rare in a "rom com" to have a leading lady who does not try to look at least 20 years younger than she really is! It is rarer still these days to find a film where the central character is a lady of a "certain age". Fiona Gillies pulls this off with enormous aplomb. This film delivers class acting with a well written and observed screen play. London is depicted as a working city which most of us recognise, rather than the "tourist" version we mostly see in other movies.Although at times our credibility was somewhat stretched, the film carried us with it and was a thoroughly enjoyable. The soundtrack was particularly good. Look out for the scene in the park where Amanda tries to impress Dan and gets into a tangle! Pure comedy.