Brian and Charles movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Brian and Charles

This quirky, British comedy by Focus Features is now available on Video on Demand.

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour 30 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

After a particularly harsh winter, Brian goes into a deep depression. Completely isolated and with no one to talk to, Brian does what any sane person would do when faced with such a melancholic situation. He builds a robot.

This charming movie is the directorial debut by Jim Archer. The writers, David Earl and Chris Hayward, also star in the movie.

If you love oddball humor and a spot of British tea, you might enjoy this creative spin on the Frankenstein story. Reviews have been coming in from a terrible 1-star grade to high praise with 10-star reviews. Clearly, this type of cheeky humor isn’t for everyone. It’s strange and endearing at the same time.

THINGS I LIKED:

It’s absolutely lovely to spend some time in the beautiful Welsh countryside. I had the great pleasure of going there a few years ago. True Welsh is impossible for most people to understand so, thankfully, we hear British/English with a thick Welsh accent. It’s a fun introduction to the bucolic spot on the globe called Wales.
I had never seen David Earl or Chris Hayward in anything before. You can tell they had a blast making this movie together.
In the style of THE OFFICE, Charles talks straight to the viewing audience, assuming a camera is following him around everywhere. That element of breaking the fourth wall plays heavily in Act 1 but then tapers off tremendously in Acts 2 & 3.
At times, the dialogue is clever and witty.
Keep watching during the rolling credits at the end for photos of what happens next after the film ends.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Some American audiences might find it difficult to understand everything that’s said because of the thick Welsh accent. This is one of those movies where you’ll want to turn on the captions if you’re streaming this on your TV.
Many viewers will be bored, waiting for something to “happen”.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Some British profanity like “bloody hell”
Adult bullying is portrayed
Some violence

THEMES:

Creativity
Imagination
People on the Spectrum – I’m assuming two of the characters are. Did you interpret it that way?
Friendship
The need for companionship
Optimism
Robots
Standing up for yourself and what’s right
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure