Reviewed by Justin Bateman
Stars Brendan Patricks, Naomie Harris, Kelly Adams, Cecile Cassel, Jane March, Edith Bukovics, Daniel Hoffman-Gill,
Michael Sheen, Mark Benton, Johnny Ball
Written by Julian Kemp (screenplay), Alain de Botton (novel)
Certification UK 12A
Runtime 87 minutes
Directed by Julian Kemp
Tearfully, Duncan (Patricks) is writing a letter to his last five girlfriends. They have hurt him irreparably and he feels he has no choice but to end it all. He necks a mouthful of pills, takes a swig from a bottle of booze and promptly collapses on the floor. But how did he get into this state? And who were these girls?
As a starting point for a film, it’s easy to think, so far, so what? But thankfully My Last Five Girlfriends quickly establishes that this isn’t going to be an average rom-com although there are classic elements of the genre in there. Attractive cast? Check. Wry one-liners? Check. But as Duncan explains how he met Wendy (Adams) we’re transported to a fairground ride in which she shows him around her world, doing graphic design, taking the rubbish out, all cleverly represented by Barbie dolls. Then, as Duncan ponders the likelihood of meeting her at all (was it fate or mere coincidence?), Johnny Ball pops up to give a statistical analysis of just how likely it actually was, and people of a certain age will get a nice warm feeling inside.
While this particular device is used just the once, it soon become apparent that the fairground motif is an ongoing one and we soon enter Duncanworld in which our titular hero lurches from one disastrous relationships to the next. But crucially, these aren’t entirely unbelievable relationships, just ones that don’t quite work out for various reasons. This is likely to be where you either go with My Last Five Girlfriends or don’t. If you like broader, farcical comedies, this may disappoint, because although there are some highly amusing moments, this errs on the side of realism more than absurdism.
The theme park concept moves Duncan from one ‘ride’ to the next with onlookers offering advice while he continues on to his last girlfriend, Gemma (Harris). She forms the largest segment of the story and we’re again treated to some imaginative storytelling devices, including a brief but perfectly pitched cameo from the seemingly ubiquitous Michael Sheen.
Based on a novel by Alain de Botton, this does come across as like a book adaptation with Duncan’s self-deprecating narration present throughout. Brendan Patricks is an amiable leading man with enough charisma to carry the film and at times bears a slight resemblance to Hugh Grant in his mannerisms, which isn’t altogether a bad thing. But while it’s consistently entertaining in a low-key way, there’s a slight lack of dramatic tension and not quite enough belly laughs for this to be genuinely great. However, kudos to Julian Kemp for his inventiveness and this is definitely well above average in what is all too often the laziest and most clichéd of all films genres.