If slapstick humour were your thing, then The Inbetweeners Movie would most probably have you in stitches as you watch the escapades or rather the attempted “sex-capades” of four teenage friends.

Financed by the insurance payout from his grandfather’s death, the socially awkward quartet of Jay (James Buckley), Will (Simon Bird), Simon (Joe Thomas) and Neil (Blake Harrison) head to Malia, Greece after their ‘A’ levels to look for some “sand, sea, sex, booze, sex, fanny and sex.”

Hilariously crude, the movie continues from the highly successful British television series of the same name and the four extremely naïve suburban boys are once again the butt of the jokes. However, those unfamiliar with the characters’ prior histories have no need to fret, as the movie works as a standalone film on its own merit.

Apart from a highly impressive opening shot that would definitely get the attention of the viewers, The Inbetweeners Movie is roughly in between Eurotrip and The Hangover.

Though the actors might have done a very good job in portraying their characters as loveable idiot (Neil), a loveable nerd (Will), a sex-starved character that more often than not is the genesis of most of the jokes (Jay) and Simon, the ‘straight man’ of the bunch, much of plot is predictable.

The Inbetweeners Movie involves the quartet drinking, getting merry and seriously sloshed – meeting fellow random idiots along the way, – having disagreements, resolving them and finally after allowing the viewers to laugh at them for over an hour, the characters then get what they set out to achieve.

However to director Ben Palmer’s credit, he has very much tried to veer away from a stereotypical resolution as the four socially awkward and naive best friends do wise up and as the movie’s tagline (‘This Summer Four Boys Become Men’) suggests, mature as they come to terms with their personal issues and become “normal” or rather, socially acceptable.

Also, amidst all the vomiting, lust, boozing and partying, The Inbetweeners is about the friendship of the four guys and the movie does a very good job of realistically portraying a bunch of close friends moving on to the next stage in life, and whether you were a fan of the television series or not, the movie’s universal themes make it easily relatable and promises an enjoyable time.

Movie: The Inbetweeners Movie
Rating: 3/5
Opens: Dec 29
Duration: 97 minutes
Language: English
Age Rating: TBA
Genre: Comedy

Director: Ben Palmer
Starring: James Buckley, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas