The Nan Movie, 2022.
Directed by Josie Rourke.
Starring Catherine Tate, Mathew Horne, Katherine Parkinson, Niky Wardley, Parker Sawyers, Pete Bennett, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Jack Doolan, Jack Michael Cloke, Paul Reid, Rosalie Craig, Bill Murphy, and Paul Tylak.
SYNOPSIS:
Catherine Tate’s iconic character Nan hits the big screen as she goes on a wild road trip from London to Ireland with her grandson Jamie (Mathew Horne) to make amends with her estranged sister Nell (Katherine Parkinson).
For those unfamiliar, as was I coming into The Nan Movie, the titular crude granny is a popular sketch comedy character from and played by Catherine Tate (also reasonably well known for her companion stint on Doctor Who) that, for some reason, has been given an entire 90-minute movie. The jokes are unbelievably lazy and outdated, ranging from gay panic to literal potty humor (during the road trip, Nan urinates inside a container because there is nowhere to stop the car) and try-too-hard shock value that is more embarrassing for everyone involved than anything remotely funny.
If you think I’m being as grumpy as Nan, director Josie Rourke must have also been mortified by everything that was shot, as her name doesn’t appear anywhere in any section of the credits. There’s nothing wrong with comedy centered on cantankerous and wildly out-of-touch, inappropriate old folks. Hell, Bad Santa remains one of the greatest modern comedies, but that’s because the character works; Billy Bob Thornton is endearing despite the nastiness on display and finds a shred of humanity to play off. And while it could be argued that its humor is still vastly not politically correct, it is at least clever and funny in its grossness. There’s a mean-spirited streak in that movie that is, ultimately, on a collision course with heart.
I bring this up because The Nan Movie is pure torture to sit through, and there wasn’t a single minute where I wasn’t thinking of similar, better characters. The film is written by Catherine Tate and Brett Goldstein (the latter currently appears in and works on Ted Lasso, which makes it all the more astounding how abysmal the jokes are here), but the real question is, why would anyone want to write jokes like this in 2022. Again, offensive humor is fine, but it takes a delicate touch to avoid coming across as cheap, uninspired, and uncomfortably punching down at marginalized groups of people.
Anyway, Catherine Tate and Brett Goldstein have decided to tell an origin story of Nan, peeling away the mystery of what has made her so carelessly crass in her twilight years. This involves a letter delivered to Nan from her estranged sister dying of cancer, reaching out to reunite before she passes. Nan heartlessly doesn’t want to go, so her grandson Jamie (Mathew Horne) deceives her into a spa trip that’s actually a road trip to Dublin to make amends.
Here’s how unprecedentedly lazy the script is; at one point, Nan falls asleep for hours on end so Jamie can change course in absurd ways that the presentation switches to paper-mâché animation. That same style is also employed whenever there is an over-the-top action sequence that the filmmakers can’t pay for, which doesn’t belong in the movie in the first place. If you’re wondering what the hell happens that requires a police chase, all I will say is there is an irritatingly stupid subplot involving a mad vegan forcing the duo to save some animals and blow up a farmhouse.
Whenever something preposterous (but somehow dull) is not going on, Nan narrates some flashbacks about the past with her sister detailing a silly love triangle that is not only boring but culminates in a tasteless twist during the film’s climax. That doesn’t mean The Nan Movie is worth getting upset about, though. No, it’s so inert and awful and out of time that it’s best to ignore it and never speak of it again. It’s a movie that is every bit grating as Nan’s nails on a chalkboard cackle. She’s also the only one cackling since there’s not a single funny bit here.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
