What We Did On Our Holiday

19 February 2015 | 9:50 am | Kane Sutton

"If you're looking for a fun, family-friendly film for what remains of this summer, check this out."

The median age of movie-goers in this cinema was probably about 70, but What We Did On Our Holiday – a comedy-drama detailing two divorcing parents Doug (David Tennant) and Abi (Rosamund Pike), who take their three kids to the Scottish Highlands for Doug’s dying father Gordie’s (Billy Connolly) birthday party – procured some genuine laugh-out-loud moments for this scribe.

Even more surprising was that the standout performances actually came from the children: Amelia Bullmore was adorable as the youngest, Margaret, while middle child Micky (Bobby Smalldridge) was hilarious with his wonder about Vikings and his often uncompromising honesty.

It’s definitely one of those films you’d find yourself appreciating a lot more if you have (or have had) young kids of your own, as the children do a wonderfully realistic job of portraying youthful curiosity, but there's a good lesson for adults to learn from Connolly: that sometimes it's worth remembering to let your hair down and have a bit of fun because “in the end, none of this matters”. There was plenty of laughing and definitely some crying taking place in the cinema, a sign that the good ol' family dynamic plot line has all the potential to hit home hard. If you're looking for a fun, family-friendly film for what remains of this summer, check this out.

In cinemas