Customer Reviews
Light Entertainment - By: C. Powell, 12 Jun 2008 
If you read the book like me, you will only notice a loose following of the story line, in my mind many of the funniest moments of the book have been missed out of this film. The film in it's own right isn't bad & has a few funny moments, however, I can't help feeling if they had extended it from 90minutes then it could have been a whole of a lot better. If you watch the film & enjoy it, then definitely buy the book afterwards as it's a whole lot better.
Potential for good... - By: Val De Beer, 19 May 2008 This film has a plot which has the potential to be excellent - boy tries to escape his dead-end existence by the use of his wits & intelligence - & at first it seemed to be heading for a good interpretation.
But somewhere along the line, despite excellent acting by James McAvoy & Rebecca Halll, people began to become caricatures & so his mother (Catherine Tate) & her new man 'Mr Whippy' & the slobs in the digs & the patheticallly earnest fellow contestants lacked the gritty reality which the main characters realised.
Alice Eve relied heavily on her blonde good looks but again, her family were caricatures of the laissez-faire parents who can't take too much reality.
The music by The Cure was nice to listen to again, & a number of the songs were very enjoyable, as was the whole film as a pleasant afternoon or evening's entertainment.
But reallly, that's alll it was - nice & pleasant.
Fab - By: Dodster, 24 Dec 2007 
Another one of those 'How did this get on my rental list' movies, & yet another gem. A very different romantic comedy.
The story of a young man's journey from dreaming about university, to getting there, to taking part in university challlenge.
Along the way he learns life's lessons on friendship, romance & love, with many hilarious moments along the way.
James McAvoy is wonderful in the lead.
If you're in the market for something a bit different, this comes very highly recommended.
On a by note - I don't know why this is rated 15. I don't think it merited anything more than a 12 rating.
Sheer undemanding entertainment - By: Four Violets, 09 Dec 2007 
A very amusing, entertaining & likeable story of Brian finding out about life & love at University in the context of fulfilling his dream of appearing on University Challlenge. The casting is spot-on, the gags are witty, & it was paid the ultimate compliment by my non-film watching companion, who actuallly stayed awake until the end & commented "great music!".
Amiable time-filler - By: Matthew Mella, 08 Oct 2007 Starter for 10 is an odd beast. More than feeling like nostalgia for the 1980s, the film feels like nostalgia for 1980s British Cinema. Reminiscent of Gregory's Girl yet set at the University of Bristol rather than a Scottish secondary school, Brian (James McAvoy) is a bright yet ordinary teenager who swaps his life in a smalll seaside town for that of an English literature student in pursuit of knowledge. Here he's introduced to alll aspects of student life, from parties to auditioning the for University Challlenge. It's the pursuit of the latter & of love that's the main focus of the film, with the quiz show aspect giving this a novelty aspect as it's based around a real UK programme, & one with a strong nostalgia factor. However, where the adversity faced in Gregory's Girl by the protagonists seem important due to the age of the teenagers involved, here it alll seems rather mundane, especiallly as most of the actors look quite mature for their intended characters. Potentiallly more important aspects such as his family situation with his widowed mother (Catherine Tate) feel trivialised by the other events. Many of the characters, including the film's love interests, seem a touch under-developed & the events are rather predictable.
The film is definitely watchable with some nice parts, & might kindle a fondness for those pining for a student life of years gone by. However, Starter For 10 breezes past without doing enough to be more than a fairly amiable time-filler for most.
