ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS (EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE)

 

It began as a BBC3 documentary about a 16 year old drag queen, Jamie Campbell in a Co Durham mining village.

Then it became a musical in Sheffield's Crucible Theatre that ended up going to the West End and on a tour of the UK in a production which featured Shane Richie.

Now Tom MacRae's 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie' has made it onto the screen.

It's just the size of the screen, that matters.

Originally intended for a theatrical release from the Disney owned 20th Century Studios, Jonathan Butterell's movie has wound up getting a very limited cinematic run in the US.

The rest of the world has to content itself with streaming the film on Amazon Prime.

That's a shame because Butterell's feel good musical really ought to be seen in multiplexes.

In fact, you can't help feeling Disney really bottled it, pulling plans for a cinema release during the Covid-19 pandemic and selling the rights instead to Amazon Prime.

Newcomer Max Harwood steps into the role of Jamie New, a camp 16 year old with dreams of becoming a drag queen.

Jamie is a good hearted lad who's also the target of Samuel Bottomley's cocky bully Dean Paxton in their Sheffield comprehensive school.

His best friend is Lauren Patel's hijab wearing swot Pritti Pasha who wants to be a doctor and is also the target of Dean's jibes.

Jamie and Pritti are determined to make their mark.

However the school they attend seems to be designed to convince pupils to lower their expectations about life.

Sharon Horgan's teacher Miss Hedge seems to expend a lot of her energy on persuading her students to stop dreaming of being pop stars or fashion models.

In Miss Hedge's opinion, most of them are destined for careers in a local abattoir.

Jamie, however, refuses to be pigeonholed and fortunately he also has a loving mum, Sarah Lancashire's Margaret New in his corner and her best mate, fellow 'Coronation Street' alumna Shobna Gulati's Ray.

Along with Pritti, they encourage Jamie to be himself - particularly when he purchases his first 'Wizard of Oz' style, ruby red high heel shoes.

They also encourage him to pursue his dream of appearing in drag at the end of year school prom.

Margaret, however, is also protective of Jamie - hiding the fact that his dad, Ralph Ineson's Wayne has effectively cut ties with him now he is in a new relationship.

Embarrassed by his son, Wayne doesn't turn up for a party marking his birthday but Margaret pretends her ex has signed a card and left him money.

Encouraged by Pritti, Jamie goes to Richard E Grant's costume maker, Hugo Battersby to make him a stunning frock.

However Hugo insists he needs to road test his drag persona first and encourages him to take part in a drag show at a local community hall.

Hugo has a drag persona too, Loco Chanelle and is instrumental in helping Jamie build up the confidence to unearth his inner drag queen.

But is Jamie's dad, school and Sheffield ready to embrace Mimi Me?

'Everybody's Talking About Jamie's' theatrical roots are very apparent in Butterell's film which follows the beats of a typical stage musical.

This could be a drawback but Butterell and the playwright Tom MacRae avoid the film becoming too stagey with an imaginative use of down to earth Sheffield locations and some clever choreography.

They are helped by an exuberant cast, with Harwood confidently taking on the lead and quickly winning over the audience with a cheeky line in humour.

He is ably assisted by the extremely likeable Patel who convinces as a mostly obedient Muslim girl, while Sarah Lancashire delivers a performance full of heart as Jamie's loving mum.

Reprising the role she performed onstage in the UK tour, Gulati is delightfully brassy as Ray, while Horgan really convinces as a thin skinned teacher who hates being challenged.

Bottomley embraces the challenge of being a snide bully, while Ineson is impressively feckless as Wayne.

Adeel Akhtar appears in an all too brief cameo as the school principal Iman Massood.

However the most enjoyable performance comes from Grant - a camp actor at the best of times who relishes his chance to play a drag queen.

 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie,' however, is a musical and that means it can stand or fall on how it handles its showstopping songs.

There is no need to worry on that score.

Butterell cleverly brings established music industry names to join the cast on the soundtrack which features well crafted songs.

And so Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Holly Johnson joins Richard E Grant on 'This Was Me' - a nostalgic track in which Hugo looks back at being a drag queen in the middle of AIDS and the homophobia of the 1980s and 90s.

Sophie Ellis Bextor lends her voice to the song 'While We're Still Young' in a collaboration with the Horsham rock band, The Feeling.

Lancashire delivers a showstopping song 'He's My Boy' which follows ABBA and Billy Joel style hooks.

Sharon Horgan really impresses during the routine for 'Work of Art,' which eventually pays homage to Madonna's 'Vogue' video.

A lot of the movie's success is also down to Macrae's empowering message, Butterell's assured direction, Dan Gillespie Spells' cleverly constructed music, Katie Prince's joyous choreography, Guy Speranza's striking costumes, Jane Levick's eye catching production design and Christopher Ross's intelligent cinematography.

All of these elements combine to elevate  'Everybody's Talking About Jamie' from its theatrical roots and its Sheffield setting to a film that somehow manages to outgun 'In the Heights' for sheer exuberance.

It also trumps the high school camp of Ryan Murphy's 'The Prom' - particularly in its final act.

'Everybody's Talking About Jamie' is pure unadulterated fun.

It's just a pity most of us will in all likelihood have to see it in our homes rather than on a cinema screen.

That is its natural home and it deserves to be there.

Feeling as if it shares the same DNA as 'The Full Monty' and 'Billy Elliott' before they became successful stage musicals, Butterell's film is miles better and much more enjoyable than 'The Greatest Showman'.

Charming, funny and full of heart, it is one of the most truly joyous cinematic experiences of 2021.

For that reason alone, try to watch it on the biggest screen possible - even if it is a flat screen TV - with the sound cranked up.

('Everybody's Talking About Jamie' was given a limited cinema release in the US on September 10, 2021 and was made available for streaming on Amazon Prime on September 17, 2021)

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