It’s 1982 and outsider schoolboy Will is having a hard time coping with his father’s death.
Being raised by his mother in a strict Plymouth Brethren family where TV and radio are deemed a pernicious influence Will is forced to turn to illustrating his own escapist fantasies to keep himself amused. But when his pal Lee shows him a pirate copy of First Blood, Will is blown away.
The pair decide to enter a TV filmmaking competition with their own lo-fi camcorder ‘re-imagining’ of the Stallone film utilising whatever props and acting talent their average secondary school can muster.
The pair quickly become school celebrities and all appears golden until the arrival of a French exchange student Didier Revol. Didier, a kind of 14 year old cross between Serge Gainsbourg and Simon le Bon, effortlessly insinuates himself into the affections of every girl he meets as well as placing himself firmly between Will and Lee.
Upstaging the two friends Didier dons the Rambo bandana threatening to take all their hard-earned glory. There’s a refreshing honesty, joyous tenderness and real visual flair in this very British take on friendship and growing up in 80s England which manages never to hit a bum note as it effortlessly juggles poignancy and real belly laughs.
This feels like the film Hammer and Tongs (the promo duo behind the disappointing Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy feature) were born to make. And keep an eye out for Eric Sykes!
