The Nan Movie is very reminiscent of the 2000's BBC sketch comedy TV shows that you just don't find on TV anymore. It's a hilarious, extended sitcom episode from the brilliant mind of Catherine Tate. I was shocked to find, whilst looking and feeling like a film that should have been distributed by the BBC or perhaps Channel 4 (I had in mind it would be something along the lines of 'The Inbetweeners Movie' or 'Mrs Brown's Boys D' Movie'), the film was in fact a Warner Bros. picture. Despite this, it still has the great feel of British authenticity that the previously mentioned films thrive on. 

Based off of the iconic sketch comedy character, Nan (Catherine Tate) receives news that her bitter rival and sister Nell (Katherine Parkinson) is dying. Her grandson Jamie (Matthew Horne) forces her to go and visit her before she passes much against Nan's will. Along the way, Nan ensures the two get into some trouble, whilst simultaneously exploring Nan's past and discovering why she hates her sister so much. 

Whilst comedy is of course subjective, this film hits the nail on the head for me. It feels very much like the 2000's British sitcoms people know and love. The comedy somehow manages to take the mick out of current 2022 affairs and the wokeness of society today- whilst not saying and doing anything too offensive or being too edgy for a general 2022 audience (however, viewer discretion is still very much advised). I thought Tate was fantastic, despite the fact she was a little bit annoying at times. I also loved Horne and thought that the two had really great chemistry. 

To quote Jim Carrey, as opposed to being a straight comedy, the film does have a sense of being a 'Calamedy'. The word means to be so funny that when the 'calamity' element hits (more than likely just the sad part of the film), audiences are so engaged yet caught off guard- making the moment even sadder. This does work for the film because whilst the ending wasn't full on sobbing emotional, I didn't expect to feel as sad as I did and didn't realise I had become so emotionally engaged with the story. 

My biggest criticism with the film is how it is paced. The film uses far too many flashbacks, that although work out well in the end, are definitely not worth the agonising pain I had sitting through them. I was far more interested in the present events as opposed to the past ones that took up far too much screen time for a film based around a nan. The film also has an inexplicitly bad visual effect explosion. However, I didn't mind this too much because it felt like it contributed to the comedy. 

Overall, whilst The Nan Movie may not be 'peak cinema', it is a simplistic, nice 90 minute watch- so long as you can stand a little bit of dark humour! 

My score- 7/10