The Inbetweeners Movie Review (4/5)

In 2009, an at first little-known comedy called The Hangover (5/5) hit the box office. Soon enough, we were taken by storm as its effortless combination of wit, charm and outrageous humour earnt it a place in comedy fans' hearts across the world. But a problem of sorts arose from this. When more comedies later arrived on the scene, disguised from their mediocrity by the use of big name stars, people were no longer willing to simply accept them as the best we'd ever get, because they could compare them to the true masterpiece that Zach Galifinakas and co gave us two years back, and rate them highly or lowly as a result. That, combined with the fact that The Hangover: Part II (4.5/5) still has managed to retain much of the original's success, leaves The Inbetweeners Movie in an uncomfortable position of immense pressure. Thank goodness, then, that the film easily shrugs off the qualms and worries of the viewer that it will be predictable, providing a huge array of great gags sure to have the audience in hysterics on several occassions. Admittedly, some of the scenes containing these moments of comedy greatness will also often include moments which are genuinely cringeworthy, threatening to ruin the golden script and/or the superb portrayals of the main four protagonists, but those confrontations never totally override the overwhelming sense of fun and innovation present throughout. The set-up is simple: Jay, Will, Simon and Neil have just left sixth form, and decide to take a leisurely holiday in Greece, looking for sex along the way, before they part ways and venture off to university. The Inbetweeners Movie never dares to take us beyond the confines of its somewhat limited premise, and that inevitably places it behind the likes of the  Hangover flicks in terms of comedy quality, yet in some ways it's its finest attributes, as it makes some of the 'setpieces' feel unexpected and daring deviations from the main course, few and far between as they are. I can't really say too much about the movie without spoiling its best moments, but sufficed to say that the trailers have given very little away in terms of jokes, and you'd be best to go in with none of the surprises spoilt so as to get the full hilarious potential out of it. I said when examining August's releases that it would be full of sleeper hits, and like Super 8 this is another such example of these types of release, a nice way to bring the Summer of Film to a close, an innocent yet oft hilarious British comedy that proves we here in the UK can do great cinema. One or two of the lads' storyline twists do linger on the cliched side, and if the show's type of humour isn't your sort of thing (very crude stuff, as a newcomer to the series I would say, but I found it totally accessible and very funny) then this might feel like two hours of repetition and tedium, however from my point of view those possibilities seem pretty unlikely to hamper your enjoyment of this well-meaning, frequently excellent romp. There's huge potential for a sequel here- Film4 and E4, get to work!