Catherine Tate's iconic character Nan hits the big screen as she goes on a wild road trip from London to Ireland with her grandson Jamie to make amends with her estranged sister Nell. Militant vegan arsonists, raucous rugby teams, all night raves and crazed cops on motorbikes all make for a proper day out. An origin story that mixes Nan's present with her past where we finally find out what's made her the cantankerous old bastard she is today.
I fully expected to hate this film, but actually although it is an one joke movie, Catherine Tate in the title role and her grandson sidekick Mathew Horne ("Jamie") have quite a bit of a lark as they travel to the island off the island of Ireland to visit her long estranged sister "Nell" (Katherine Parkinson). We discover just why they fell out and watch just how this gregarious old woman poo-poos just about every modern day, politically correct, convention as she swears and farts her way around the country. Horne is a reasonable foil for her, but this is really just an one-hander with a star who lives and breathes this character and despite myself, it did raise the odd smile. Laugh out loud? Well it was for some in the cinema and there are quite a few fun escapades packed into the 90-odd minutes it lasts. It is not, I would say, a cinema film - it will look fine on the telly at Christmas. Not great, indeed it's puerile at times, but it's not dreadful either.
