‘I’m afraid you’re stuck with boring old me for six weeks…’
Things have been pretty tough for the old Inbetweeners gang since that show finished. James Buckley and Joe Thomas were responsible for the excretable White Gold. Co-creators Iain Morris and Damon Beesley released a gentle football comedy starring an American comedy legend only to see their creation utterly overshadowed by the runaway success of Ted Lasso – a gentle football comedy starring a different American comedy legend. In fairness, Greg Davies has gone from strength to strength and Simon Bird… well Simon Bird is certainly still best known for playing Will Mackenzie. He is forever frozen in carbonite as the archetypal briefcase wanker. Whilst his directorial debut Days of the Bagnold Summer probably won’t be enough to change that perception, it’s a solid enough start…
Daniel (Earl Cave) is sad. He’s sad about his absent father. He’s sad about living with his severely uncool mother (Monica Dolan). Mostly, he’s sad because he’s a teenager, and that’s what teenagers do best. When his dad cancels a trip to America, Daniel is forced to spend his summer with his uptight but loving mum.
Whilst there is little to separate Days of the Bagnold Summer from any number of other similar coming-of-age tales, it is still a solid piece of work in its own right, and at less than 90 minutes, it is well worth anyone’s time.
Based on Joff Winterhart’s graphic novel and Lisa Owens’ screenplay, Days of the Bagnold Summer sees Bird pull from The End of the Fucking World, the innate Britishness of Friday Night Dinner, and yes The Inbetweeners to create something that is always enjoyable without ever threatening to be truly great. In that respect, Bird’s debut feature is akin to the work of Craig Roberts – an interesting curio that shares a level of social anxiety and spiritual growth with its creator.
Luckily, Bird has a wonderful roster of famous friends to call upon with Rob Brydon, Tim Key and Tamsin Greig all making an appearance, as well as Alice Lowe as Daniel’s glam auntie Carol. This ensures that the comedic relief remains in sharp focus, even as Daniel himself becomes more and more glum. Indeed, his sadness is so sad that it brought back memories of my own sadness. Which of course was the saddest sadness of all. As rock band Mclusky once mused – My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours. Daniel’s awful treatment of his mother also recalled my own lousy treatment of my own mum as a teenager. Unforgivable. Embarrassing. But also universal.