Coky Giedroyc (director)
(studio)
12A (certificate)
112 (length)
16 June 2023 (released)
11 June 2023
Based on the Take That stage show Greatest Days is now a film musical. The play was based on the lyrics of Take That and a book by Tim Firth. The film is directed by Coky Giedroyc written by Firth. As I haven’t seen the stage show I don’t know how close it sticks to that.
The basic story is that as a teenager Rachel (Aisling Bea) was a massive fan of Take That, along with her inseparable friends. Now in her 40’s married and working as paediatric nurse she wins a competition to see the reformed band in Athens.
This she sees as the perfect opportunity to reconnect with her childhood friends whom she hasn’t seen for some 20 odd years. Meeting at the airport, Heather (Alice Lowe,) Zoe (Amaka Okafor) and Claire (Jayde Adams) they note some changes, as one would expect with the passing of time.
Mentally and physically they are in quite different places with aspirations dashed or diverted so the friends trying to reconnect through the streets of Athens on scooters and on booze. They have a good time, up to a point, when tensions appear. With the film flitting between the present day and their childhoods it soon becomes obvious that there’s a massive elephant in the room that in the end cannot be ignored.
Greatest Days isn’t actually about Take That per se; their music is used to tell the story and that is incredibly well done. The songs have been expertly tailored to the visuals and the moods of the characters. It does betray its stage origins at times with some parts namely on a bus, and the band get a cameo.
And for the most part Greatest Days is a lot of fun, packed with great songs, dance and celebratory sequences and a cast quite clearly enjoying themselves. But the film does have a deeper emotional beat and that is beautifully realised towards the end.
The film, despite the fantasy elements, is solidly grounded in reality. It has a frayed around the edges look with some of the locations. Added to that the problems of the adults and the growing pains of the adolescents ring true and authentic. What it has though in abundance is heart, great big loving one.
Greatest Days will be on general release in the UK from 16 June 2023.
