Review: I Give It A Year

I Give It A Year is a funny, original, British comedy.  The film focuses on a failing marriage, and we get to see how things break down through the course of the film. It's sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and is  a really great movie to take your partner to see tomorrow. One of the reasons for this is that it mixes up the rom-com set-up.

Romantic comedies might be accused of being a bit formulaic - boy meets girl, they form a bond, something goes wrong, everything gets resolved and they all live happily ever after. IGIAY comes at it from a different angle: boy has already met girl, they’ve got married, and we get to see it all fall apart. This keeps things  nice and fresh. You end up excited to see where the plot is going to go, not predicting how everything will pan out in the first 5 minutes. This is a pretty big achievement in a genre that is more stuck in it’s ways than a metronome.   

Another aspect that really makes the film is it’s intelligence. Without giving too much away, the way a particular piece of underwear is used multiple times (you’ll see what i mean) is particularly good. The comedy is also pretty clever, there are several scenes where the joke is played out, going for big laughs rather than quick ones. It’s nice that people are taking the time to write films that go a little deeper than normal, especially  in a genre like this.  

The comedy is generally of a really high standard. It plays a lot on awkwardness and embarrassing situations, think Peep Show and you’re not far off, and has a fantastic cast. Olivia Colman and Stephen Merchant are particularly memorable in support roles, and the rest of the cast are all bloody funny as well. You certainly won’t leave the cinema having not had a good laugh.

All in all this is a funny, interesting, clever take on a genre that has occasionally felt quite tired. Well worth a watch.

Watch if you like: Good Richard Curtis films or recent British TV comedy

If you like this try: Tyrannosaur (just to be blown away by Olivia Colman's acting range)