Following recent flops like Ghost Town and Invention of Lying, Ricky Gervais is in need of a vehicle that will assure audiences that his quirky humor translates from the small screen. Cemetery Junction, which is a writing/directing collaboration with frequent cohort Stephen Merchant, and which Gervais describes as a cross between The Office and Mad Men, could prove just what he was looking for.
Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes” provides a fitting backtrack for this coming of age tale that’s set in 1970’s small town England. Gervais’s plan to “capture the spirit of those classic British New Wave movies of the 1960s that made stars of Albert Finney, Julie Christie, and Michael Caine” comes through clearly, and the tone is rather serious (especially for a Merchant/Gervais project); a teen named Freddie (Christian Cooke) struggles to break free of his working class roots while retaining his lifelong friendships/getting the girl.
Ralph Fiennes (from the hilarious teaser trailer), Emily Watson, Matthew Goode, and Gervais (who plays Freddie’s father), also star.
The UK release date is April 7; look out for a Stateside debut later this year.
So, what do you think: Could Cemetery Junction prove the big screen breakthrough that Gervais has been looking for?