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Yesterday I said that if you were going to see one film this weekend then it should be Wildwood but if you were going to see three (that’s a bit much, right – who would do that?) then you maybe could see Klara and the Sun. I will now add a proviso to that. If you are a fan of the Ghosts TV show then this new movie should most definitely be second on your list but if not then I’m not sure.
That’s not to say you should avoid this if you’ve not already bought into the characters and the conceit. I’m genuinely not sure. I think the movie does a very good job of letting you know what the set up is and I am sure the jokes would still land but there is no question that you will get most joy from this if you have seen the previous thirty episodes, the four Christmas Specials and the Kylie Minogue Comic Relief sketch. Judging by the packed screening in the two hundred and twenty seat auditorium I was in last night though, a lot of people have.
To refer to this as another episode of the show however is not correct. They have definitely stepped things up and this does feel like a proper movie. The narrative is bigger. Like the Downton Abbey movies (which, let’s be honest also relied heavily on the love of their fanbase) this story is tied to its central location, especially since most of the characters cannot physically leave it. They find a nice way of expanding things though and the humour they get from this is delightful.
The two main words I have used to describe this are very appropriate. It is a delight and it is a joy. There are laugh out loud moments but not as much as this team’s other feature film. Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond, collectively known as The Six Idiots or the Them There Company, started working together on Horrible Histories and before this also made the show Yonderland but in 2015 they released the Shakespeare parody Bill which by my mind is their most consistently funny project. This is more built on charming characters and if you know and love them already then all the better.
That’s not to say the movie is just made up of comfortable and quirky interactions between these players though. There is a real adventure here and the stakes are quite high in lots of different ways. The plotting is also remarkably tight and events build on one another brilliantly. This is a very well written movie, which is all the more impressive when you consider that half a dozen people penned it. I may have found Bill funnier but I do think this is the peak of this group’s collaboration.
In terms of the performances it is hard to pick anyone out as each of them gets their moment, although I’ve always particularly enjoyed Richard’s Robin and if anyone comes close to stealing the show this time it is him. There are new cast members here as well and special mention does have to go to Scott Ellis Watson who plays the kid who gets possessed. This young actor was excellent in last year’s I Swear and he is almost as good here as he plays Simon Farnaby’s Julian playing him. The body swap moments are up there with Jumanji.
I am thrilled that these writer/performers have come back together to make this and as a follower of their work it is everything that I wanted. They exist in a long line of British comedy troupes from Monty Python to the League of Gentleman, the Comic Strip and more recently Mischief Theatre but they are in a class of their own. I wouldn’t mind another Ghosts movie, and I love anything made so clearly for a UK audience (the US, Australia, Germany, Greece and France all have their own syndicated versions) but I also can’t wait to see what else they do. Essentially I don’t mind as long as they stay together and they keep giving us stuff this great.
If you’re not a fan then which movie you watch this weekend is moot. Frankly you’ve got plenty more to catch up on first.
