What Do The Critics Say?

"Georgia is a typically tormented teenager, and this is a fairly predictable coming-of-age comedy/drama; but an extremely charming and funny one that is completely engaging. Georgia and her friends' dialogue is loaded with hilarious Brit teen vernacular, and memorable lines tumble from their adolescent mouths. You don't need to be a teenager to enjoy this: you just have to remember being one." BIG POND MOVIE REVIEWS" "Like her 2002 hit Bend It Like Beckham, Gurinder Chadha's latest film excels at capturing a sense of place and involves us in the emotional reality of her characters." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE "The film accurately captures that age-old teenage irony that the worst years of your life are also freakishly the best." SUN ONLINE "Chadha hasn't just set out to please fans of the books, but to make a John Hughes film for the Noughties. I approached with a mixture of dread and resignation. And was promptly charmed to pieces." Tim Robey UK TELEGRAPH "Chadha knows the importance of casting and has done a great job fitting young acyors into their roles for an entertaining, engaging and not always predictable story. Well written and well executed, the film delivers what it sets out to." Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE "Yes, this is a teenager chick-flick. And it is quite enjoyable. Talented newcomer Georgia Groome plays 14-year-old Georgia Nicolson, a typical teen with typical teen problems. Angus was directed by Gurinder Chadha, and she dishes up yet another entertaining film. You'll walk out of the cinema with a smile: and really, who doesn't like feel-good, happy endings?" Colin Newton BRISBANE SUNDAY MAIL

"From Bend It Like Beckham through to Bride And Prejudice, Gurinder Chadha makes feelgood movies grounded enough in everyday life to raise smiles of recognition." Christopher Tookey DAILY MAIL "The film's leads, Georgia Groome and Aaron Johnson, are both excellent sharing a great chemistry and youthful exuberance which is truly contagious. Georgia's "ancient parents" also deliver, in particular The Sketch Show's Karen Taylor as Georgia's lusty mum. An excellent soundtrack accompanies the film, something "youth teen" films so often get wrong." Sean Lynch WEBWOMBAT "Chadha’s skill is catching the nervous mood and buoyant pleasure of those early boy-girl dalliances. Sweet and often funny." Wally Hammond TIME OUT LONDON "It's a funny, sympathetic film about a form of teenage life as far removed from my youth as that observed by Margaret Mead in her Coming of Age in Samoa. Like "Clueless", it is linguistically interesting" Philip French THE OBSERVER "If you're a cat lover, chances are you'll fall in love with Angus. But there's plenty more to enjoy about this likeable coming of age film in which Georgia Groome's awkward fourteen year old Georgia negotiates her tragic universe in an endearing and funny film about girls, boys, parents and those well described topics of the title." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE

The Inside Story "Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging" gave husband and wife writing team Paul Mayeda Berges and Gurinder Chadha an opportunity to collaborate together for a fifth time. When they were approached by Paramount to work on the script for the film, which is based on the first two books in the series (The second book in the series is titled "It's OK I'm Wearing Really Big Knickers"), the appeal for Chadha was immediate, as she instinctively knew they could bring the text to life and stay true to the spirit of the books: "In Georgia, we have a wonderful character that anyone who is a stroppy teenager, or has ever been a stroppy teenager, will completely relate to and understand how parents, teachers and, in fact, the world conspires against you just as you are bursting with adulthood: a kind of Bridget Jones at fourteen, but with more attitude! I was drawn to just how real and funny Georgia is and that's why she and the books have such a huge international readership." Louise Rennison ("Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas" "Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants" & "Love Is a Many Trousered Thing") may have based some of Georgia’s life on her own teenage years, but she has also spent time researching what it is to be a teenager today by hanging around with fourteen year olds. The experience was, as Rennison, who counts her two goldfish, Finn and Bjork as her biggest fans says, "Brilliant, the best fun known to humanity. It's all boys, makeup, laughing and; er, that's it!" Before writing their draft of the script, Chadha, Mayeda Berges researched the subject matter in a similar way to Rennison, chatting to teenagers and noting their responses, and reading magazines aimed at teens. "Reading all these magazines, you realize the emotional turmoil teenagers go through at that age. You get a sense that they really do think that they are adults, they really do think that they know what is going on, but to us, they are children. It really paid dividends to talk to the real girls and read what they read, and to really get inside the heads of Georgia and the girls," Chadra recalls. "We loved Georgia and we thought that she was so funny and easy to relate to; she was so real, and kind of mad and wacky. She represents everything that is important to you when you are fourteen: friends, wanting to have that first boyfriend, that first snog," Berges adds. Chadha says the American High School genre appealed to her. Films like "Clueless", "Mean Girls", "16 Candles", anything by John Hughes. "The language that the girls speak, the emotions that they go through, it is all very pure and innocent, a marvelous time in anyone’s life, although, when you are going through it, it is horrendous; the fact that you are so angry all the time at your parents, who are just always embarrassing no matter what they do. When that boy you really fancy just doesn’t know you exist, you just want to die and never have anything to do with boys again. Everything is so dramatic." With a script in place it was time to find the cast. Casting started when Charda was four months pregnant. Finding the right person to play the lead role of Georgia Nicolson wasn't easy. In fact that particular task wouldn't be accomplished until some months later. 2002 Sydney Film Festival Prix UIP Award winner Chadha began the casting process when she was four months pregnant. Within a few months, she had found many of the key characters in Georgia’s life, but was still struggling to find Georgia. A few months later, following the birth of her two children, Ronak Singh Chadha Berges (named after her father) and Kumiko Kaur Chadha Berges (named after her husband's mother), their Georgia still hadn't materialized. Chadha whose first feature, "Bhaji on the Beach", won numerous international awards, including a BAFTA Nomination for Best British Film of 1994 and the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Newcomer to British Cinema) called yet another casting session. In it, she brought back Georgia Groome ("This is England", "The Disappeared" & "My Mother"), whom she had seen early in the casting process but had felt was too young. As Chadha remembers, "This time, she was like a young woman, she had blossomed and had a completely different attitude and I was thrilled as soon as she walked in, because I knew we had found our Georgia." Groome’s breakthrough role came in the acclaimed, gritty independent British feature film London to "London to Brighton". Groome was cast as Joanne, a twelve year old runaway who is procured by a reluctant prostitute Kelly into having sex with an old violent mobster with a taste for underage girls. The film marked an impressive feature film, writing & directorial debut for Paul Andrew Williams who received many accolades for his effort including this one from THE UK GUARDIAN film critic Peter Bradshaw: "With plenty of chutzpah, the young British film-maker Paul Andrew Williams has written and directed a cracking debut feature with enough clout to kick the door in." Being cast as the eccentric and irresistible Georgia Nicolson gave Groome (who will next be seen in "The Cottage" with Jennifer Ellison and Andy Serkis) the opportunity to play a teenager of a similar age to herself, which meant she naturally had an understanding of the emotions, situations and angst of the character, "Fourteen year old girls worry about boys; about what boys think of them; and about parents; about parents not letting them do what they want when they like. Fourteen year olds worry about everything to do with themselves: what they look like, what’s wrong with them, clothes, makeup, everything. Life to a Fourteen year-old is, like, Arghhh!!!" Mayeda Berges ("What's Cooking?" & "The Mistress of Spices") notes, "Georgia Groome has a great combination of being able to be light and silly and goofy, but also possesses real emotions; she uses those skills to show how she is changing and is heartbroken about Robbie, or she is upset about her parents. She just has a really amazing sense of what you’re like when you go through that situation: she is so real and natural." "I think people will like Georgia Nicolson, because she is very enchanting. Georgia and her gang of girls together are a lot of fun and thoroughly watchable," Chadra offered. Co-producer Michelle Fox ("Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj") says she sees the mishaps and adventures of Georgia as being universal and appealing to families, as well as a young audience: "It was a fantastic script and a lot of fun to produce. It will appeal to the whole family, not just the teenage girls that the books were originally written for. It’s an emotional journey that teenagers and parents alike will relate to. It really takes you back to being 15 and all the exaggerated highs and lows. Georgia and her gang were brilliantly cast, reflecting much of their own personalities in their respective roles." So what did Fox ("102 Dalmatians" & "I Want Candy") of the cast as a whole? "Jas is delightfully ditzy and Robbie, charming and sensitive. You really believe all of their relationships, as Georgia brings such sincerity to her role. Kimberly Nixon is a brilliant and beautifully wicked Slaggy Lindsay. Her scenes with Georgia are just so real. On set behind the cameras, their friendships were growing rapidly, which is evident in the dailies and made being on set quite entertaining at times. Our handsome boy cast caused quite a stir amongst the Ace Gang and they had the added excitement of The Stiff Dylans. We created this great band, with Robbie as the lead singer, from an open audition and their presence on screen is quite something. The audience will come out of cinemas rocking." But back to Georgia. Although Georgia Nicolson is very much the leader within her group of friends, the 'Ace Gang', because she is the crazy one with the plans, she is not the most experienced when it comes to life and boys. Mum, dad, sister Libby and her cat Angus, frequently irritate her. While Georgia is the focuss of the film, it's her cat Angus who nearly steals the show. He's been with her ever since she was little. He sleeps with her, and frequently has a part to play in her crazy plans. The special thing about Angus is that he is frequently Georgia’s confidante. Groome explained Angus is actually played by two cats in the film. "Both cats have different personalities. Benny is the Angus that is the cuddly one that will sit still for long periods of time: he is my savior, my agony aunt that I tell everything to. I dread to think what that cat could tell you, because I whisper all sorts of things in his ear. Jim is the action cat: he does all the jumping and stunts." As for the 'snogging', well Georgia has no experience here. She needs a coach. Enter Peter Dyer, "the man, the myth, the legend." If Georgia ever hopes to make it with Robbie, the bass player in teen band 'Stiff Dylans', she'll need all the help she can get, after all, the competition for Robbie is heavy. Peter Dyer is the key to her knowing what to do when, and if, she finally gets to kiss Robbie. In Peter Dyer’s words, "Number One is the standard kiss. Number Two is with movement, when the boy goes in, the girl always goes the other way; the boy leads and the girl always fits in. Number Three is with tongues, which makes it a health and safety issue. The secret is to strike the right balance between yielding and giving. Start slowly; like a turtle, not a lizard; and avoid washing machine syndrome. That’s my scale of snogging!" The 'Stiff Dylans' band features heavily in Rennison’s books and a real band was created especially for the film; an extensive audition process saw four individual musicians brought together to perform in the film, with a hoped-for life beyond the film. James Flannigan (vocals), Charlie Wride (guitar), Matt Harris (bass) and Thomas Slaytor (drums), who have never before played together, found themselves in the famous Abbey Road studio, recording tracks as the film went in to production. The 'Stiff Dylans' perform a cover and a track that was especially written for the film (with lyrics about Georgia Nicolson), which Robbie is supposed to have written for her. Aaron Johnson, who plays Robbie, says, "I really enjoyed being up on the stage with an instrument. I don’t really play any instruments or sing, and I’m definitely not a rock band type. It was a great atmosphere and a different buzz. It really felt like we were playing a gig." Synopsis

Misunderstood by her 'ancient' parents, but buoyed up by the love of her cat Angus, and best mates, the Ace Gang, Georgia Nicolson struggles through life seeking out her two main desires: 1. To get a gorgeous sex-god as her boyfriend. 2. To throw the greatest 15th birthday party ever. When handsome brothers Tom and Robbie arrive at school, Georgia thinks her boyfriend dreams have been answered. But when she sees Robbie with her arch rival, Slaggy Lindsay, she devises a plan to show Robbie that she’s the mature, sophisticated girlfriend he deserves. Unfortunately Georgia’s plans: involving snogging lessons, dying her legs orange and stalking Slaggy Lindsay, don’t exactly run smoothly. In addition to her own romance problems, Georgia's dad is given an amazing job opportunity in New Zealand, which he takes. In her quest to get Robbie and keep her family from splitting, she transforms herself from a selfish girl into a young woman who’s grown beyond the valley of the fab into the universe of marvy.

The Verdict "Director, co-writer, producer and mother of two, Gurinder Chadha O.B.E. has done it again. Chadra, who brought us such glorious films as "Bhaji on the Beach", "What's Cooking" and launched Keira Knightley's career with "Bend It Like Beckham" has taken two of author Louise Rennison's books and melded them into a film guaranteed to charm the socks of teens and parents alike. "Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging" has an all encompassing appeal, for while the story focusses on fourteen year old Georgia Nicolson and her quest to find the perfect boyfriend, it truly does capture the eagerness, anticipation, frustrations and angst of our teen years. Shot on location in Brighton, Eastbourne, Middlesex, North London and Ealing Studios, the film stars Georgia Groome and 'Angus' the cat. "Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging" will provide an ideal opportunity for a teen girls day out or for parents to spend some quality time at the cinema with their young daughters. If only all teen flicks were so appealing! Very recommended. 4 1/2 STARS." Crew Bytes "ANGUS, THONGS AND PERFECT SNOGGING" was .......
directed by Gurinder Chadha ["A Nice Arrangement", "What's Cooking?" and "Paris, I Love You"]; scet decoration by Liz Griffiths ["The War Zone", "Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)" and "The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising"]; art direction by David Morison ["Girl on a Cycle"]; costume design by Jill Taylor ["Sliding Doors", "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers", "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" and "Penelope"]; production design by Nick Ellis ["Killing Joe", "Bend It Like Beckham" and "Bride & Prejudice"]; edited by Justin Krisch ["Greenfingers", "Bride & Prejudice" and "Nanny McPhee"]; cinematography by Four Time Camerimage Award winner Dick Pope ["Secrets & Lies", "Vera Drake" and "The Illusionist"]. Who's Who

Georgia Groome Eleanor Tomlinson Aaron Johnson Alan Davies Karen Taylor Tommy Bastow Sean Bourke Liam Hess Manjeeven Grewal Georgia Henshaw Kimberley Nixon Eva Drew Matt Brinkler Steve Jones Tamara Notcutt Ingrid Oliver

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Georgia Nicolson Jas Robbie Bob Nicholson Connie Nicholson Dave the Laugh Tom Peter Dyer Ellen Rosie Barnes Wet Lindsay Libby Sven Jem Salsa Woman Miss Stamp

Run Time 100 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2008 - Paramount Pictures - All Rights Reserved ©2008 All Rights Reserved - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - Protected by Australian, International, Copyright & Trademark Laws.