Everybody's Talking About Jamie | Film Review

I had been really looking forward to this film before it came out. I haven't seen the stage show, so I only knew the basic premise, but I couldn't wait to see it.

Jamie New (Max Harwood) wants to be a Drag Queen - but can he overcome the bullying of his peers, the discrimination of his school, and his estranged father to step into the spotlight?

I didn't love this film as much as I wanted to, but I did still enjoy it.

The beginning of the film felt a bit cheesy, which is definitely not a bad thing in a musical. But because I had no experience of this musical, it took me a little while to get into it because it didn't feel real to me at first.

I love the story, and the fact that this was even made into a musical in the first place. The story (as opposed to the film) is perfect in a musical setting, and I completely understand why the stage musical is so popular.

This story is empowering and heartbreaking at the same time. The balance of emotions is created really well.

My absolute favourite thing about the movie was the support that Jamie received from his mum (Sarah Lancaster), his mum's best friend Ray (Shobna Gulati) and his best friend Pritti (Lauren Patel). The love and support they showed Jamie was so beautiful that it actually made me feel a bit emotional.The actors did a great job.

Having said that, a lot of the surrounding characters are quite two-dimensional, and as much as this allows Jamie to drive the story, I did want to hear more from everyone else.

Weirdly, the thing that I was most disappointed by was the music. I was never in love with the soundtrack (though I did love a few songs individually). I have tried listening to the soundtrack multiple times since watching the film, and I still don't really love it as a whole. But I will say that the song 'He's My Boy' is incredible. I knew it before I saw the film and I loved seeing it in its true context.

But as well as that, as much as I love musicals, and appreciate the musical element of the film, I'm very interested to see this movie as a drama, without the music. I think it could be really great.  

Overall, I enjoyed this film, and I felt a bit emotional by the end, but overall I was a bit disappointed, particularly by the musical sections. But it's definitely worth a re-watch.

5.5/10