"From the creators of The Inbetweeners" was one of the major selling points for this film, and for very good reason. The Inbetweeners is one of the funniest and most popular tv shows of the last few years (at least with people in my age group) and so it only makes sense to plaster the fact that the same people worked on this film all over the advertising for it. And, as you may have guessed if you have seen any trailers for the film, it is not false advertising in the slightest. The film has exactly the same kind of comedy that The Inbetweeners brought to its audience, with the only thing missing being the fact that the characters are not the same. In fact, I would not be surprised if this film started out as an Inbetweeners sequel and then was rewritten to be this film. So, the big burning question, is it as funny as The Inbetweeners? Is it even funny at all? Well I can tell you that it is funny. Itis funny, but it doesn't really come close to the level of hilarity that The Inbetweeners reached. The film tells the story of Simon... sorry I mean Nick, the film follows the story of Nick (Joe Thomas) who is dumped by his girlfriend, Caitlin (Hannah Tointon), at their graduation and is completely broken by the news. His best friend Shane (Hammed Animashaun) convinces him to come to a music festival to get over it, and also because his favourite DJ, Hammerhead, is headlining. Simo... Nick reluctantly agrees despite the chance of him bumping into Caitlin while they are there. They arrive at the festival and as you would expect insane scenarios and comedic situations ensue.
The strength of the film comes with the likeable characters. As is the case with The Inbetweeners the characters are all caricatures of people (at least in Britain) who everyone has met before, only in the film these personality traits are turned up to 1000.The three main characters are all likable and funny, even if there not exactly the most deep of characters you've ever seen. Nick is a loveable but, unknowingly, selfish person who is convinced that every situation is all about hm and his plight in the world. Shane is the not particularly smart best friend, the comedy foil to Nick's straight man if you will. And Amy (Claudia O'Doherty), an eccentric Australian who Nick and Shane meet on the train, is annoying in a likeable way and is herself a great comedic character. Everyone plays their parts well even if what they have been given to work with was never going to produce any spellbinding performances, but it is hard to not see the character of Nick as Simon from The Inbetweeners. They are literally the same character and you would be forgiven for thinking that this was a Simon spin off film rather than a standalone in its own right. Despite this Joe Thomas does a good job and it can't be denied that he is a very good comedy actor and does get most of the big laughs in the film.
The story is not exactly the most complicated and is also a story that has been seen several times before. Girl breaks up with boy, boy attempts to win girl back and embarrasses himself whilst doing so, boy realises that his obsession is hurting his other relationships and that he is better off without her, boy tells girl this, everyone smiles and hugs. That is the basic synopsis of this film. Sorry to keep harking on it but it is effectively the whole Simon and Carli storyline from the first Inbetweeners film. However, it is not done badly mainly because the comedic situations that the story allows the characters to get into are, on the whole, funny. If you have seen any episode or either Inbetweeners film, you know exactly what you’re going to get. The comedy is awkward, raunchy, painful (in both the metaphorical and literal sense) and smart on occasion nd it does get a few big laughs, or at least it did from me. It was not side-splitting for the whole duration and there were stretches where I wouldn't laugh match at all, but there were also moments where I was laughing out loud and was squirming in my seat. The moments of awkward comedy were the most effective for me, mainly because it is a type of comedy I find particularly funny anyway, but also because the filmmakers knew just how long to keep these moments going so as to get the biggest laughs without wearing the joke thin. As for the rest of the film from a technical point of view, it is shot and edited quite well but not exceptional or even anything particularly cinematic. It feels like it could have been a TV film without a theatrical release, that’s effectively how the film is shot and feels. There are several montage sections showing documentary footage from festivals across the UK which are done well, but even then they are not anything exceptional. But at the end of the day the film isn't attempting to be particularly cinematic, it wants to be more down to earth and relatable and the filming style matches that feeling.
The Festival as a whole is an enjoyable experience, but it is nothing to get super excited about. It has a lot of funny moments with a few very, very funny moments, but it is not the laugh a minute comedy that it is attempting to be. It may be just because I am older than I was when I watched Inbetweeners and the comedy style doesn't hit me the same anymore, but there are still enough funny moments to be worth the price of a ticket. Its acted well and technically it is fine without ever pushing the boat out, and overall it is an average comedy that you could watch in the cinema, but you wouldn't miss out on anything if you waited for it to come to TV or streaming and watch at home. However, one thing I have to bring up is the Hammerhead headlining set that is shown in the film. I won't get into spoilers of the scene, but I would just like to say that the happy and joyous crowd that is absolutely loving this set is not accurate in the slightest, because if I or anyone else were treated to this seton the final day of a festival you have forked out a lot of money on I would be piiiiiiiiised.