Martin Clunes has a new film out in cinemas now. No, not Wuthering Heights, but the comedy drama Mother’s Pride. And unsurprisingly given its plot, director and nature, it’s turned out to be a bit of a crowd-pleaser.
The plot follows a grieving family who run a struggling pub, who try and turn things around by brewing their own real ale and entering the Great British Beer Awards competition.
Although it’s billed as a feel-good film, it also highlights the real issues faced by pubs in the current economic climate (via BBC News).
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As well as Clunes, the cast features The Inbetweeners’ James Buckley, A Street Cat Named Bob’s Luke Treadaway, Game of Thrones’ Mark Addy, The Thick of It’s Miles Jupp, Better Man’s Jonno Davies, and Poldark’s Gabriella Wilde.
The film has been helmed by Nick Moorcroft, who wrote the St Trinian’s and Fisherman’s Friends duologies, and directed the Fisherman’s Friends sequel.
And similar to those films, especially Fisherman’s Friends, this one has gone down well with older audiences and looks like it could become a Sunday afternoon staple, according to fans on Letterboxd.
“A simple, funny, bittersweet little tale. Sometimes its just nice to watch a film that cheers you up, and makes you laugh, and this was just that!” wrote one fan, while another said: “Absolutely brilliant movie very very funny and great story.”
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“A mix of funny and heart warming. Just a classic British film”, reads a third write-up, while Buckley and Addy were praised for their performances.
A more balanced review called the film: “A straightforward underdog story and filled with cliches but it’s pleasant enough viewing and whiles away 95 minutes or so well enough. A perfect Sunday afternoon matinee.”
The film was the fifth best-performing film at the UK box office over the weekend, making £707 million, which was slightly less than Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley’s heavily-advertised The Bride!
Mother’s Pride is out in cinemas now.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he’s covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I’m a Fish.