Freestyle

[Beate]

http://www.lovefilm.com/film/Freestyle/140740/

Kolton Lee directs this British drama starring Lucy Stanhope as Ondene, a young woman destined to study law at Oxford if she gets the A-level results that her aspirational and domineering mother, Hyacinth (Suzann McLean), is hoping for. When a basketball court is set up near her private school, Ondene meets and falls in love with charismatic freestyle basketball player Leon Chambers (Arinze Kene), who also dreams of going to university despite his deprived background. But their relationship comes under threat when Hyacinth discovers the budding romance, and Ondene is forced to make some tough decisions about her future and the man she loves.

[Beate]

Got tickets to a screening at Stratford Library this afternoon at 2pm. When we arrived out of breath at quarter to, they were a bit confused and said it started at 2.30pm now and to go downstairs again. Basically, someone had booked the Hopkins Room for a meeting which didn't finish until 2pm and they then needed time to set it up. We watched in fascination as some woman struggled with closing the blinds for about 10 minutes, then struggled with the computer screen, couldn't find the expand button, then couldn't find the volume button....

There was only a handful people in the room at 2pm which is basically a small lecture room with rows of blue chairs, but by 2.30pm they were full up and people had to sit on tables at the back of the room. We were 2 of only 3 white people in the room and felt a bit like gatecrashers, LOL. I recognized the main actor sitting in the first row, and I am sure there were other people to do with the film there as well.

Basically, if you are neither young, black, hip, live in the East End nor like rap music or freestyle basketball, you will find this film incredibly boring, pointless, unoriginal and unfunny. Consequently, we left half an hour in and made our way back home. So I missed half of The Mummy Returns for this mess and spent £2.60 in oystercard fares to get into zone 3!

Good luck to the folks seeing it tomorrow - not sure how they are attempting to fill the huge Empire Leicester Square screen for this!

3/10

[superhero]

I take the point, this film might really take you out of your comfort zone and if I wasn't such a sucker for previews, I really probably wouldn't have gone to see this film.
Surprisingly they put us in the big screen at the Empire and even more surprisingly it was approaching 1/3 full given how soaking wet it is today in the West End.
I was actually quite angry at the start when I saw the film was lottery funded and I was ready to write a review saying stop wasting lottery money on films like this! But thinking about it, thank god for the lottery funded scheme, otherwise a film like this would never be made and all would ever get would be period films. It's more the kind of thing, they would make in Hollywood in terms of the urban sports storyline (although structurally it's quite similar to Bend it like Beckham)
There's gaping plotholes in the story (Can someone explain to me how the couple ended up on the front page on london lite???) but it is a feel good story and the ending left people leaving the cinema on a high and some applause too.
6/10 for me, I would have given it higher but as other people will no doubt say I wasn't in my comfort zone with the rapping, basketball etc...

[destresserai]

I went to Leicester Square with my daughter and a few of her teenage friends. Quite surprised to find a mixed reaction at the end of the film. No-body gave it a resounding thumbs up but out of the teenagers 3 thought it was just okay, one was totally indfifferent and the other didn't like it at all!

I have to be honest I probably wouldn't have gone to see it but thought a day up town with daughter and friends would be a nice treat. The film was okay but to be honest we have all seen the storyline in another guise - things like Save the last Dance, Step-up etc instantly spring to mind.

An average of 5/10 from my group.

[prettyxcool]

I was also at the Leicester Square screening today. It was a good turn out considering the pouring rain! My friend and I both enjoyed it, despite it being not what we had expected - as it was about basketball, we both thought it was an American film, so surprised it was a British film. Although the story is rather lame and you can guess how it would end, it does have a feel good factor and a few bitter sweet moments. 6/10 from me.

[opas]

I also saw this at Empire - v.surprised that they put us in the big screen, although I'd say the upper tier was about 60% full and the bottom tier maybe 30% so there was a decent turn out considering the rain and the fact that it is not a potential Hollywood blockbuster.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was as I imagined. The acting was quite poor in places and it was fairly cringy/cheesey in places. In terms of geography it was more South East London than East London (for me there is a difference!) - although this did not overly matter in terms of the storyline. I can see it appealing young people (probably the 14-21 age group) who are interested in the grime / urban music scene.

There no doubt that this is a storyline that has been done before (and a lot better in some other films), but it is good to see more films set against a British urban backdrop rather than it being 'downtown Chicago' or particular neighbourhoods in New York or other random US cities.

Alfie Allen was particularly repulsive/ annoying but comedic at the same time. I think some of the actors were picked more for their ball skills (which is understandable) but then the acting left a lot to be desired - I thought Prunella's delivery was particularly awkward - but I was impressed with her skills in the tournament at the end! I guess it was a toss up between the two skills that were needed. All in all I'd give it 5/10 for what it was.

The film was also fairly short (which may have been a good thing for some!) and we took the opportunity to see the early part of the Chinese New Year celebrations in Soho so happy the film got me out of bed for that!

[opas]

There's gaping plotholes in the story (Can someone explain to me how the couple ended up on the front page on london lite???) .

Do you remember when Colin Salmon first came on screen? He was with a photographer and they went to the basketball court to promote this 'Freestyle' basketball event which he explained was all part of the NBA's new marketing strategy? He then picked the two of them to stand together to get photographed and took their names. The Colin Salmon character didn't quite explain that they would be used in a newspaper article though so it was a surprise.

[Beate]

Yes, he told them to pose and say "Freestyle". Must have been in the first half hour as I remember it. Funny seeing a London Lite - the paper obviously does not exist anymore!

[superhero]

I thought about Step up and the save the last dance too! but I think kudos to the lottery funding, because it's not the kind of film they would have made in the UK

I went to Leicester Square with my daughter and a few of her teenage friends. Quite surprised to find a mixed reaction at the end of the film. No-body gave it a resounding thumbs up but out of the teenagers 3 thought it was just okay, one was totally indfifferent and the other didn't like it at all!

I have to be honest I probably wouldn't have gone to see it but thought a day up town with daughter and friends would be a nice treat. The film was okay but to be honest we have all seen the storyline in another guise - things like Save the last Dance, Step-up etc instantly spring to mind.

An average of 5/10 from my group.

[superhero]

I remember but I never quite found the "leap" that they would be "that" important to appear on the front of the londonlite.
(Not that you have to be important to be on the cover of the londonlite anyway!)

There's gaping plotholes in the story (Can someone explain to me how the couple ended up on the front page on london lite???) .

Do you remember when Colin Salmon first came on screen? He was with a photographer and they went to the basketball court to promote this 'Freestyle' basketball event which he explained was all part of the NBA's new marketing strategy? He then picked the two of them to stand together to get photographed and took their names. The Colin Salmon character didn't quite explain that they would be used in a newspaper article though so it was a surprise.