Rating of
0.5/4
Bleating around the bush
Bribaba - wrote on 05/03/11
One of the few films that's maybe best known for its theme song (by Traffic), and five minutes in you begin to see why. This is a never-coming-of-age comedy with a cringe-worthy script, from Hunter Davies based on his own novel. Barry Evans plays the most annoying teenager, like evah, though he might have been better had his voice broken. The narrative consists of his attempts to chat up girls and, amazingly, he pulls the lovely Judy Geeson but even when his big moment comes, he’s bleats around the bush by jabbering about her dog.
It might sound sweet and indicative of the period but there’s a cynical, slightly exploitive vibe about it. Normally in ’swinging 60s’ films London provides a picturesque backdrop but this is set in swinging Stevenage, with the local supermarket standing in for the Kings Road. In truth, it never tries to be cool but then it doesn’t try to be much else, either.
