God save t this queen
EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE
12A
In selected cinemas and on
Amazon Prime now
Cert ★★★
AN opening caption claims this glitzy musical is a true story with added “singing and dancing”. But it leaves us two steps removed from Jamie Campbell, subject of a 2011 BBC Three documentary that followed his plan to unleash his drag queen alter ego at his school’s prom.
Most of the music was added in 2017 when his story was turned into a hit West End show. Now what’s left of the lad has been forced into the mould of the feel-good Brit flick. Played by remarkably assured newcomer Max Harwood, Sheffield schoolboy Jamie New is like a more fabulous but far less finely drawn Billy Elliot.
To follow what is, in the age of Rupaul’s Drag Race, a far more socially accepted dream, the 16-year-old northerner must tackle a school bully (Samuel Bottomley), a panto villain dad (Ralph Ineson) and a disapproving teacher (Sharon Horgan). But these obstacles feel a little forced. We all know Jamie, with the help of his drag queen mentor Loco Chanelle (Richard E Grant), will shine on his big night.
Fans of the show will be pleased to see all the big numbers have survived more or less intact. But there’s a stagey feel to the titular routine where schoolchildren (played by actors who look too old) theatrically and loudly trade rumours through the medium of dance. The film is far better in its quieter moments, such as a touching sequence where Jamie’s mum (Sarah Lancashire) sings about her secret fears.
There’s also a new song written and performed for the film by Holly Johnson. Here, the film leaves the feel-good formula behind as a clever Vhs-style montage relates the gay community’s battles in the less-tolerant 1980s.
Though the title track is my latest earworm, I suspect this cinematic musical sequence will be the most memorable.
Schoolboy Jamie is a fabulous but far less finely drawn Billy Elliott