Musicals have long been one of the greatest forms of escapist cinema. The heightened world that they tend to exist within, and the usual cheer of infectious joy they spread, offers an enjoyable way to escape our day to day livesin exciting ways. After the year and a half of the hell we have all been through, that's exactly what we need right now. Fresh from the West End, does the film adaptation of Everybody's Talking About Jamie give us something to sing and dance about?
With aspirations of becoming a drag queen, 16-year-old Jamie New (Max Harwood) must overcome brutal prejudice, pressure and his tormentors in order to live out his dreams. Introducing New to the screen, who stars opposite Richard E. Grant, Sharon Horgan, Sarah Lancashire and Ralph Ineson, Everybody's Talking About Jamie also marks the feature directorial debut of Jonathan Butterell.
For a film celebrating the beauty of standing out and vibrancy of life, Everybody's Talking About Jamie is an awfully flat film. Telling a basic narrative in a very one-dimensional manner, the film is populated with predictable character arcs and cliches that are devoid of any nuance or depth. Its saccharine screenplay paints the world in a black-and-white way which greatly contrasts the colourful message it wishes to spread, and is further hindered with awkward dialogue that only feeds into its blandness. For all the talk of individuality, this musical adaptation is as cookie-cutter formulaic as they come.
A musical can still be salvaged by a good tune or two and, unfortunately, that too is lacking from Everybody's Talking About Jamie. While this is, of course, an issue rooted in the source material at hand, there is very little offered to enliven the musical numbers in-film - the choreography is uninspired and the production feels incredibly cheap, leading to these poorly-staged sequences that should be the film's bread and butter but instead fail to dazzle as expected. With debut director Butterell unable to bring much in the way or excitement, or make its one-dimensional plot feel in any way textured, the film becomes one-note and bland rather quickly, and it never recovers.
Max Harwood plays Jamie with a clear commitment, but the screenplay often makes him a difficult character to endear yourself toward; while we can sympathise with him, his prickly attitude can make him a difficult person to empathise with and root for, which becomes a problem when you're the titular character. And with the newer cast rarely given the opportunity or content to shine, it's up to the veterans - a fabulous Richard E. Grant as former drag queen Loco Chanelle, who delivers a gloriously camp performance while dialling up the emotion in a really well-balanced turn, as well as a sympathetic Sarah Lancashire - to carry the film.
Everybody's Talking About Jamie has its heart in the right place but the flat execution and, fatally, its lacklustre soundtrack lead to a disappointing film adaptation that lacks the soul of what makes the genre so special when it gets it right. Unable to deliver the dazzling show numbers and lacking the experienced eye needed to enhance the source material, Jamie's song and dance is one you may want to skip.
Everybody's Talking About Jamie launches on Prime Video, 17 September 2021.