Starter for 10

Based on the novel by David Nicholls, Starter for 10 follows small-town teenager Brian Jackson (James McAvoy) as he begins his stint at a well-respected college and eventually signs up for a televised trivia challenge – with the film primarily detailing Brian’s relationships with two very different women (Alice Eve’s Alice and Rebecca Hall’s Rebecca). Filmmaker Tom Vaughan, working from Nicholls’ script, has infused Starter for 10 with a zippy, consistently entertaining vibe that’s heightened by the compelling work from the various actors, as McAvoy delivers a thoroughly charismatic performance that’s matched by his eclectic group of costars – with Hall’s turn as Brian’s sardonic love interest certainly standing as a highlight within the proceedings. It is, as a result, rather easy to overlook the decidedly conventional nature of the movie’s storyline, although there’s little doubt that the pervasively familiar atmosphere does result in a few lulls here and there. (It’s also impossible not to wonder just why Nicholls chose to include a fairly melodramatic plot twist that wasn’t even in his book, with its presence diminishing the impact of the movie’s third act.) The game-show climax is as exciting and riveting as one might’ve expected, however, and Starter for 10 finally (and ultimately) establishes itself as a perfectly watchable (yet far-from-memorable) romantic comedy/coming-of-age story.

*** out of ****