SON OF RAMBOW

Wirrten and Directed by Garth Jennings
Starring Bill Milner, Will Poulter, Jessica Stevenson and Jules Sitruk


Will Proudfoot: And just so you know, “Cut” means stop.

They say boys will be boys. They don’t like rules and they like following them even less. That would make the early 80’s the perfect time to set Son of Rambow, Jennings’ minuscule-by-comparison follow up to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Apparently, in the England of that time, there were no rules. Boys could sneak into R-rated movies, smoke cigarettes and record the movie with a camera in plain sight. Sure all this bad behavior could ruin their minds but, as is this case for the young and unlikely friends, Will Proudfoot and Lee Carter (first timers, Milner and Poulter), it also sets their imaginations free.


Son of Rambow is not quite as charming but just as mischievous as the boys on the screen. These particular boys are also easily influenced, whether it be by other boys, family or religion. For Will and Lee though, there is no greater influence than the Rambo classic, First Blood (which somewhat implicates film violence as a direct influence on real violence but hey, it’s a comedy). The film has such an impact on the boys that they are practically exploding with creative ways to pay homage to their hero. The best part about all this is that they don’t know what “paying homage” means and they’re just two boys having fun, making a movie.

One last thing about boys, they don’t like to admit they need anyone, especially other boys. When they do though, it’s enough to cut the laughter and make you cry – unless you’re a boy. Boys don’t do that.