Starter for 10 (2006)

Director:

Tom Vaughan

Writers:

David Nicholls (novel)
David Nicholls (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Set in 1985, working-class student Brian Jackson (McAvoy) navigates his first year at Bristol University.

Plot Keywords:

TV Quiz Show | Underwear | Bristol University | Female Underwear | Punched In The Face

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Joseph Friend	...	Young Brian
James Gaddas	...	Martin Jackson
Catherine Tate	...	Julie Jackson
Mark Gatiss	...	Bamber Gascoigne
Robert Cawsey	...	University Challenge Competitor
Rasmus Hardiker	...	University Challenge Competitor
Guy Henry	...	Dr. Morrison
James McAvoy	...	Brian Jackson
James Corden	...	Tone
Dominic Cooper	...	Spencer
Simon Woods	...	Josh
Sule Rimi	...	Marcus
Joe Van Moyland	...	Hippy at the Party
Rebecca Hall	...	Rebecca Epstein
Benedict Cumberbatch	...	Patrick Watts

Also Known As:

Starter for Ten (UK) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, language and a scene of drug use.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Finland:K-7 | USA:PG-13 | UK:12A | Ireland:15A | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

BBC Films

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The single 'Pictures of You' by the Cure was not released until 1990, the film is set in 1985

Quotes:

Alice Harbinson: You're a general-knowledge god.

Movie Connections:

References Casablanca (1942)

Soundtrack:

Ever Fallen in Love

An Entertaining Piffle

Though he's been acting since 1995, young James McAvoy is poised to become the next great European import based on his kindly faun Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia and his wide-eyed work in The Last King of Scotland alongside Forest Whittaker's fierce Idi Amin. Yet sometimes a performer's measure isn't in their solid ensemble acting, but how they carry a minor work with the sheer force of talent or personality.

McAvoy's turn in Starter for Ten as frosh geek Brian Jackson, at University in 1985, is wondrously physical and inspired. He's graced with an infinitely pliable, benevolent face that's both plain and handsome. As a smart, shy working class boy, still reeling from the loss of his father years ago, McAvoy wields Jackson's intelligence as both sword and shield – he draws you to him with his wit, and keeps you at arm's length with the same. For all his smarts, he's at a loss when drawn to both the enigmatic Julie (the piercingly funny Catherine Tate) – a partner on the school's quiz team – and the politically active Rebecca (the gangly beauty Rebecca Hall who hits low vocal notes reminiscent of Emma Thompson).

Directed by Tom Vaughan from an agile screenplay by David Nicholls, Starter for Ten is the best movie John Hughes would have made if he was English and set his comedies in college instead of high school. Though predictable and erratically paced, there's a real suggestion of university life in it. And McAvoy's creation wrings true emotion. He has a showcase scene in a restaurant where he goes from laughter to tears within the same sentence – you're with him all the way. The movie is an entertaining piffle, but it serves notice that you just might be watching the birth of a star.