Starter For Ten film review

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STARTER FOR TEN

Before the dawn of reality TV, quiz shows were big news. And before quiz shows morphed into games shows (3-2-1, The Price is Right) they were very serious indeed, none more so than University Challenge. Also known as College Bowl in the United States, the format was simple: pitch two teams of young swots from competing universities against each other (these were the days when universities were really universities), ask them improbably difficult questions about science or history, and watch them squirm or shine as they sweated their way to the grand prize, usually a piece of stained glass or a dictionary. An unlikely hit perhaps, but such was its pulling power that it ran (under the auspices of quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne) from 1964 to 1987, and was later revived by the BBC with Jeremy Paxman at the helm.

David Nicholls' comic novel - a bestseller since its publication in 2003 - has now been turned into a film and is based on his own experience at Bristol University during the 1980s. It charts the ups and downs in the life of fresher Brian Jackson (James McAvoy) as he experiences the terror of leaving home for the first time and setting foot in one of Britain's most prestigious campuses.

Brian - or rather brainy Brian - is from working class stock in Southend and consequently receives much grief from his school pals for his new direction (Dominic Cooper and James Corden, two of the alumni from The History Boys). Nevertheless, he is the pride of his widowed mother's eyes (Catherine Tate) and is determined to make an impression amongst the dopesmokers, Greenham Common protesters and professors that make up his new surroundings. But most of all, he wants to make the college's University Challenge team.

In order to do this, he has to overcome the snobbish team captain (a hilarious Benedict Cumberbatch), as well as his feelings for two of the girls he meets: the Bardot-esque Alice (Alice Eve), a fellow team member and precisely the dangerous sort of posh totty he should leave well alone, and the bohemian protester Rebecca (Rebecca Hall). Interestingly both girls are played by actresses with strong acting stock in their blood - Eve is the daughter of Trevor Eve and Sharon Maughan, while Hall is the daughter of Peter Hall and Maria Ewing.