Greatest Days (12A)

In 1993, 16-year-old Rachel O'Flynn and best friends, Claire, Debbie, Heather and Zoe attend a concert at Manchester Apollo of their favourite boyband. They end the night exchanging wristbands on the rocks that overlook their hometown. Twenty-five years later, Rachel wins four tickets to the Boys' reunion gig in Athens and she nervously invites Claire, Heather and Zoe as her guests. The women are reunited for the first time since the fateful Manchester Apollo gig and its tragic aftermath.

LondonNet Film Review

Greatest Days (12A) Film Review from LondonNet

“Today this could be the greatest day of our lives” croons Gary Barlow, easing into the title track of an exuberant and unreservedly feelgood jukebox musical adapted by screenwriter Tim Firth from his 2017 stage production The Band with a toe-tapping songbook courtesy of Take That. While Greatest Days can’t quite scale the dizzy heights promised by that lyric, director Coky Giedroyc’s film is a gently effervescent celebration of female friendship that fizzes pleasantly on the tongue, regardless of whether you’re an ardent fan of the extensive back catalogue of Barlow and bandmates Mark Owen and Howard Donald…

The chart-topping trio enjoy a fleeting cameo when the on-screen action shifts from the East Lancashire market town of Clitheroe to sun-dappled Athens via a Busby Berkeley-style song and dance sequence on the tarmac of Stansted airport choreographed by Olivier Award winner Drew McOnie to the upbeat anthem “Shine”. McOnie’s exemplary work energises a late-night bus ride home to “Relight My Fire”, which explodes as a sequin-laden camp fantasia replete with bus driver in full drag make-up, and a splash in a Greek fountain that magically brings five statues to life to the rousing title song.

In 1993, 16-year-old Rachel O’Flynn (Lara McDonnell) daydreams through the streets of Clitheroe with four best friends, Claire (Carragon Guest), Debbie (Jessie Mae Alonzo), Heather (Eliza Dobson) and Zoe (Nandi Sawyers-Hudson). The girls excitedly tune into Top Of The Pops to fan the flames of their mutual love for a dreamy pop five-piece (Aaron Bryan, Dalvin Cory, Joshua Jung, Mark Samaras, Mervin Noronha), who they affectionately refer to as the Boys. Rachel, Claire, Debbie, Heather and Zoe secretly sneak off to Manchester to attend the Boys’ concert at the Apollo and miss the last bus home. They end the night exchanging wristbands on the rocks that overlook their hometown, promising to be friends for life.

Twenty-five years later, Rachel (now played by Aisling Bea) is a paediatric nurse afraid of committing to her long-term boyfriend Jeff (Marc Wootton). Miraculously, she wins four tickets to the Boys’ reunion gig in Athens and Rachel nervously invites Claire (Jayde Adams), Heather (Alice Lowe) and Zoe (Amaka Okafor) as her guests. The women are reunited for the first time since the fateful Manchester Apollo gig and its tragic aftermath and they heal emotional wounds by reconnecting to their younger selves.

Greatest Days is a quintessentially British jive through sisterly solidarity, regret and boyband hysteria, which harnesses some of the unabashed joy and exuberance that distinguished the film version of Mamma Mia. Younger cast outshine older counterparts led emphatically by McDonnell. Full-blown renditions and melodic refrains from hits including Back For Good. Could It Be Magic, Everything Changes, A Million Love Songs, Never Forget, Patience, Pray and Rule The World keep toes tapping for almost two, nostalgia-steeped hours.

– Sarah Lee