What We Did On Our Holiday Review: Comedy and Tragedy are Beautifully Entwined

The makers of the hit BBC series Outnumbered come up trumps again in this heartwarming British comedy. 

Director:  Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin

Starring: David Tennant, Rosamund Pike, Billy Connolly, Ben Miller, Amelia Bullmore, Emilia Jones, Bobby Smalldridge, Harriet Turnbull.

Running Time: 95 mins

Certificate: 12A.

What is the plot?

A hilarious journey through an unforgettable family holiday as a couple attempts to keep their impending divorce secret from their extended family who take their three children to the Scottish Highlands for Doug’s father Gordie’s birthday party. It’s soon clear that when it comes to keeping their secret under wraps their children are their biggest liability and when a day at the beach turns to tragedy, the children take matters into their own hands.

Review

Once again, writer/directors Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin have managed to create a heartwarmingly funny British comedy with the biggest scene-stealers coming in the form of the three, young children who reveal uncomfortable truths through ad-lib techniques that the directing duo used so effectively in Outnumbered.

What We Did On Our Holiday is a story centred around a couple, Doug (David Tennant) and Abi (Rosamund Pike), that are experiencing marital difficulties, which are amplified when they take a trip to Scotland for Doug’s father’s 75^th birthday party, with their three children in tow. Whilst in the Scottish Highlands all is not what it seems as it becomes apparent that the grandfather, Gordie (Billy Connolly) is terminally ill and will be celebrating his last birthday. He lives with their irritating Uncle Gavin (Ben Miller) and his long-suffering wife Margaret, played by the extremely entertaining Amelia Bullmore.

Tennant and Pike portray the bickering parents well and their attempts to conceal their character’s personal difficulties from their extended family over the course of the holiday are inadvertently, and often hilariously, thwarted by the children, in spite of their best efforts to ‘help’. 

It is while the children and Gordie are enjoying their day out that things take an unexpected turn, leading to a series of events that put the family’s future happiness and togetherness, in peril. The tragic consequences that ensue ignite a heartbreakingly captivating performance from the children, who are tragically endearing even in the most difficult of scenes on the beach with their Grandad. Hamilton and Jenkin capture the innocence and naivety of the children beautifully, as the plot of the story changes from lighthearted, entertaining comedy to a darker, sadder tale portraying the issues of family, separation, acceptance and mortality.

With the beach tragedy making the national news, hordes of reporters congregate outside Gavin’s Highland home and for the first time, the adults have to stop behaving like the children and find some kind of unity.

The big screen is set alight by the hilarious performances of the three children, Lottie, Mickey, and Jess (played by Emilia Jones, Bobby Smalldridge and Harriet Turnbull respectively), who take centre stage comically well, as they say and do ridiculous things, which provides humour even during the most heartbreaking scenes.

Harriet Turnbull who plays the youngest child, is unbelievably endearing from her obsession with her best friends (who happen to be gigantic rocks called Ed and Norman), to her ability to draw laughs without having to say a word.  Bobby Smallbridge’s character is one of those children who speaks before he thinks and is stomach-crunchingly funny with his honesty, whilst 11-year-old Emilia Jones puts in a touching performance as their sensible big sister who keeps a diary to keep track of the lies she has to remember to tell conjured by the adults. The trio keep the audience amused throughout with their witty one liners, hilarious stories and obsessions, as the story moves along through the eyes of the children, who draw the audience in from the start.

Overall, comedy and the tragedy are beautifully entwined and delivered in this moralistically educational film, which explores the difficult realities of life.

What We Did On Our Holiday is heartwarmingly fun and brings the best of British comedy.

Verdict

★★★★★

The film hits cinemas on Friday 26th September.  Here’s the trailer: 

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