★★★★ | Chicklit
Four men try to cash in on the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon by writing their own racy novel in order to save a local pub in the new film Chicklit.
Set in a small village in Norfolk, the whole town seems to be reading She Came in Chains, a new BDSM book by author Lady Lovelorn, including local newspaper editor David Rose’s (Christian McKay) wife Jen (Caroline Catz).
So when the local pub is faced with closing unless a buyer can come up with £300,000 to save it, Rose has an idea – why don’t him and his pals write their own racy novel. So he enlists his card game buddies – pub manager Chris (Tom Palmer), school teacher Justin (David Troughton) and local bookstore owner Marcus (Miles Jupp – who owns the bookstore with his partner Geoffrey – James Wilby), to each write their own section of a ‘mommy porn’ novel in the hopes that they can get someone to publish it.
Well, David contacts London book agents Bonar and Law (John Hurt and Eileen Atkins), who are very interested in representing the book the men have called Love Let Her. They get a publishing deal but with one caveat, they need to have the author available to do book tours and signings. So David enlists his struggling actress sister-in-law Zoe (Dakota Blue Richards) to play the part of the ‘author’ of the book. But with the book becoming a success, it’s harder and harder for them to keep the book’s real authors a secret, and even more so when Zoe starts getting tired of promoting something that is not hers.
Ii is a cute and funny take on chick literature and how almost anyone with an imagination and a computer can write a saucy novel. Filmed like a 1970’s style television show in a small English village with typical local characters, it’s a film that’s both charming and cute. Hurt and Atkins almost steal the movie as the uproarious book agents while the delightful music of Alex Britten (related to Director Tony Brtten who also wrote the film with Oliver Britten – it’s a family affair), who sings as part of the pub’s house band, adds a nice touch. This film is recommended because it’s cute and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
