Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (also known as Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging) is a 2008 teen romantic comedy film co-written and directed by Gurinder Chadha, based on the young adult novels Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (1999) and It's OK, I'm Wearing Really Big Knickers (2000) by Louise Rennison. The film stars Georgia Groome, Alan Davies, Karen Taylor, Aaron Johnson and Eleanor Tomlinson. The plot follows 14-year-old Georgia Nicholson (Groome) as she tries to find a boyfriend while also organising her 15th-birthday party. This is the first Nickelodeon film to be rated PG-13.
Plot[]
Georgia Nicholson is a 14-year-old girl from Eastbourne who worries about her breasts, fears she will never have a boyfriend and is constantly embarrassed by her mother Connie, father Bob, and little sister Libby. On the first day of the new school term, Georgia and her friends—Jas, Ellen and Rosie, known as her "Ace Gang"—spot two fraternal twin brothers, Robbie and Tom, who have just moved to Eastbourne from London. The girls follow the boys, who are exploring town with their friend Dave "the Laugh".
Georgia and Jas decide to approach the brothers in their mother's organic foodshop, where they work. Jas is quickly enamored with Tom and Georgia strikes up a conversation with Robbie. However, they soon discover that Robbie is dating Lindsay, the most popular girl in school. After learning that Robbie likes cats, Georgia pretends that her cat Angus has gone missing and asks Robbie for help finding him. Jas has Angus on a leash in the park, but he escapes and Tom rescues him just as Georgia and Robbie arrive. Robbie leaves to spend time with Lindsay and Tom asks Jas on a date, after which they become a couple.
Meanwhile, Bob moves to New Zealand for a job, while his family stays behind. During his absence, Connie hires a handsome builder, Jem, to redo the living room, and begins to spend increasingly longer periods of time with him, even going to dance classes with him. Georgia worries about the state of her parents' marriage.
In an attempt to impress Robbie, Georgia takes "snogging lessons" with Peter Dyer. He becomes infatuated with her, and when he tries to kiss her at a party the following night, he ends up embarrassing her in front of Robbie, Lindsay, Jas and Tom. In order to evade Peter, Georgia lies to him about being a lesbian. When Tom invites Jas to go swimming with him and Robbie, Georgia tags along. While in the pool, Robbie and Georgia kiss. Robbie then leaves, but promises to call Georgia later.
After not hearing from Robbie in a while, Georgia is heartbroken. She reads Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus and decides to make Robbie jealous so that he realises his feelings for her. She invites Dave to see Robbie's band, the Stiff Dylans, perform. Upon seeing Georgia and Dave dancing and laughing, Robbie tries to talk to her but is stopped by Lindsay.
At school, Dave confronts Georgia about using him to make Robbie jealous, and so stops talking to her. When Dave tells Robbie that Georgia was using him, he stops talking to her as well. Georgia discovers it was Jas that accidentally leaked this information. After Georgia kicks Jas in the shin during an argument, they vow never to speak to each other again. Shortly afterwards, Robbie tells Georgia he wanted to break up with Lindsay before anything else happened between them, but now he is disappointed with her behaviour.
Feeling like there is no point in staying in England, Georgia decides that she would like to move to New Zealand. She goes to her father's workplace and breaks down with a woman who works with him, telling her she does not want her family to be apart from each other. Later on, she goes to the beach, knowing Robbie would be there, and apologizes to him. Robbie reveals he dumped Lindsay and admits that he still likes her.
On Georgia's 15th birthday, Connie takes her to a club for the first time. The place initially seems empty, but it turns out to be a surprise birthday party which Jas had secretly organised with Connie. She is greeted by all her friends and family, with Jas and Georgia making amends. Bob returns from New Zealand, deciding to stay in Eastbourne for a better job opportunity, after his boss told him about Georgia's breakdown. It is also revealed that Jem is gay and his boyfriend is the owner of the nightclub. The Stiff Dylans are performing the song "Ultraviolet" which Robbie had written about Georgia, when they are interrupted by Lindsay who comes from her own party (to which no one had turned up) and tells Robbie that he would either have to take her back or lose her forever. He tells her that Georgia is the one he wants, and he kisses Georgia onstage. Jas then pulls out Lindsay's breast pads and tosses them into the crowd, prompting a furious Lindsay to storm off the stage.
In the final scene, Georgia is content with how she looks and with her crazy family. As she meets Robbie to walk to school together, she also comments that she found a boyfriend who thinks she is perfect.
Cast[]
- Georgia Groome as Georgia Nicolson
- Aaron Johnson as Robbie Jennings
- Karen Taylor as Connie Nicolson
- Alan Davies as Bob Nicolson
- Eleanor Tomlinson as Jas
- Manjeeven Grewal as Ellen
- Georgia Henshaw as Rosie
- Kimberley Nixon as Slaggy Lindsay
- Sean Bourke as Tom Jennings
- Tommy Bastow as Dave
- Liam Hess as Peter Dyer
- Matt Brinkler as Sven
- Eva Drew as Libby Nicolson
- Steve Jones as Jem
- Stiff Dylans as themselves
- Ray Shirley as Woman with the Poodle
- Benny & Jimmy as Angus
Production[edit][]
Chadha was originally brought into the project as a scriptwriter:
Most of the scenes were filmed on location in Brighton and Eastbourne. Others, such as the gig scene and some interiors and exteriors for Georgia's house, were filmed in and around Ealing Studios, London. Areas in nearby west London like Bishopshalt school in Hillingdon and the Liquid nightclub in Uxbridge were used as well. Other sites include locations in Teddington and Twickenham. Costumes included green blazers and kilts borrowed from St. Bede's Prep School in Eastbourne, and props included Eastbourne's signature blue bins to add to the effect and continuity when filming in multiple locations.
Release[]
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging was the first film produced by Nickelodeon Movies to receive a PG-13 rating.
Reception[]
The film received positive reviews. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 72% based on reviews from 25 critics, with an average score of 5.92/10. The site's consensus states: "Based on two of British writer Louise Rennison's popular books, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging is a pleasant and funny tween comedy, comfortable for UK audiences as well as stateside crowds."
Critics noted the strong central performance of Georgia Groome, who was praised for her "super-engaging" performance.
Box office[]
The film has earned $14,924,919, which includes $10,627,381 (£6.6 million) from the UK alone. The film was in the top 40 in the UK and Ireland and Malta 2008 box office. The film was not released theatrically in the United States, but instead had its U.S. premiere on Nick at Nite and TeenNick and was later was released on DVD.