Over latest years, Aaron Taylor-Johnson has more and more discovered himself in additional spotlighted tasks, notably in action-heavy roles. His newest undertaking, Kraven the Hunter, sees him play the vengeance-wracked, widely-feared titular hunter. Taylor-Johnson is clearly interested in characters whose life is on the road. Even his future is mapped out with loss of life and violence, as he joins the star-studded forged of the darkish and sinister Nosferatu, and is about to seem within the post-apocalyptic horror, 28 Years Later. However earlier than Taylor-Johnson dedicated to this blood-stained path, successfully beginning together with his action-packed breakthrough function in Kick-Ass, he was a teenage heartthrob in an underrated 2008 British rom-com. Angus, Thongs and Excellent Snogging could have taught teenage women in all places the correct method for making out, however it additionally reveals the precursors to Taylor-Johnson’s inherent appeal that we nonetheless see glimpses of at the moment.
What Is ‘Angus, Thongs and Excellent Snogging’ About?
Georgia (Georgia Groome) is a typical 14-year-old who is definite she can be getting the most well liked celebration of the yr (in a membership no much less) and a dreamy boyfriend, even after by accident shaving off an eyebrow. Angus, Thongs and Excellent Snogging is a light-hearted coming-of-age story that follows Georgia and her three pals as they navigate how their bond evolves whereas following their “boy-crazy” hobbies and coping with adjustments that include adolescence. The worth of friendship and studying to just accept your self is on the forefront of this nostalgic movie — and, in fact, a swoon-worthy love curiosity.
When Robbie (Taylor-Johnson) and his brother, Tom (Sean Bourke), arrive on the town, Georgia and Jasmine (Eleanor Tomlinson) instantly get their decide; they’re the extra “emotionally mature” ones in spite of everything. This kicks off a collection of all-too-relatable shenanigans, together with “boy stalking time” and stringently avoiding “washer syndrome,” whereas kissing. The movie reminds us of the frivolity of adolescence, particularly because it fittingly opens up with “She’s So Pretty” by Scouting for Women, sprinkled with laborious classes we’ve got to be taught in some unspecified time in the future to mature.
Taylor-Johnson Is Relatable in ‘Angus, Thongs and Excellent Snogging’
Taylor-Johnson enters because the mysterious love curiosity that Georgia pines over from a distance, however Robbie is rapidly snatched up by Lindsay, Georgia’s tormenter and the most well-liked lady at school. Nonetheless, there’s an surprising spark between them each time they do seem on-screen, drawing us into the prospect of their eventual romance. A lot of that is attributed to Groome and Taylor-Johnson’s chemistry, as dialogue flows organically between them, reminding us of our personal nerve-wracking encounters with our crushes after we had been youthful.
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The sequel will even star Cillian Murphy.
Groome’s cringy and egocentric portrayal of Georgia additionally sells this relatability — she’s {the teenager} we was once, albeit not one we wish to keep in mind. As she fervently engages in cosmopolitan quizzes and boy/lady theories, Angus, Thongs and Excellent Snogging creates an area we will share a sure familiarity with that makes Robbie all of the extra engaging. Taylor-Johnson additionally feeds into this as he toes the road between strikingly unattainable and intimately acquainted. As a part of a band, he dedicates songs to a particular particular person within the crowd, leaving us starstruck, however we’re additionally aware about his scrunched-up air guitar face, or his kicked puppy-dog one when he’s confronted by his feelings. He effortlessly constructs a real persona that makes us fawn over his dreaminess alongside Georgia.
Angus, Thongs and Excellent Snogging is the proper movie to observe if you wish to see the roots of Taylor-Johnson’s charming attract. It uncovers a extra giddy facet to his performances, as he exudes a boyish appeal as Robbie, wide-eyed and nonetheless vulnerable to superfluous romantic errors. But, as one of many older characters within the movie, there’s a unusual mixture of emotional maturity and empathy — however solely sufficient for naive teenage women to swoon over. These qualities are extra refined in his later movies, as his appearing chops and roles additionally naturally mature with time.
His expertise as a romantic lead is extra straight translated to his function because the bewitching Depend Alexei Vronsky in Anna Karenina, although his appeal evolves into one thing extra shrewd, particularly with the complexity of feelings his character has to confront. We will nonetheless see traces of Robbie’s mischievous youth underneath the jaded sarcasm of Tangerine in Bullet Prepare, or the easy cheekiness lurking beneath the malicious gleam in Kraven’s eyes. As this got here only a few years earlier than Kick-Ass, you may see remnants of Robbie in Johnson’s earnest vigilante, besides this time he is the nervous geek who lusts after his lovely classmate (whereas additionally making an attempt to save lots of the world).
However most of all, it’s Taylor-Johnson’s signature smirk that attracts us in amid all his characters’ flaws and penchants for violence. With humble beginnings in Angus, Thongs and Excellent Snogging, this engaging smirk has been practiced over time, and it could be a criminal offense to not revisit its origins.
Angus, Thongs and Excellent Snogging is obtainable to hire on Apple TV within the U.S.
RENT ON APPLE TV
- Launch Date
- July 25, 2008
- Director
- Gurinder Chadha
- Runtime
- 100 Minutes
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