Spud

"Spud" is a pleasant coming of age comedy with stellar performances by Sivan and Royal. John Cleese delivers what is possibly his career best performance in a dramatic role. Other performances are generally solid, particularly Cope and Kriek.

The plot is familiar and often predictable; however, the execution is so organic that one seldom feels aware that one seldom feels conscious of viewing a film, even during the frequent voice-overs.

There are a number of unique elements to the story that seem largely squandered. The story is set in South Africa, but could just as easily have been set in Britain, Canada, Australia or a number of other locations. It occurs during a turbulent period in the country's history, but the school is isolated from political events. Spud attends a posh private school on a full scholarship, but while he is bullied, he's never bullied over his modest background. He reads "A Tale of Two Cities" and performs in "Oliver Twist," but there is no effort to draw any parallels with the country's political events or Spud's circumstances. While the film seems predictable in many respects, one expects various elements to be more fully developed and to have a greater impact on the story.

Various subplots converge at the climax in manners that are not unexpected, but don't seem entirely earned. Spud is given an option that doesn't seem earned and The Guv's situation changes abruptly in a manner that doesn't seem the logical and necessary progression of prior events. The climax might have been more fulfilling if the characters had done more to earn the outcomes.

Production values are adequate. The pace is a little slow at times. There is one scene with Spud reading in the foreground while minor events occur in the background that serves to remind the viewer that the filmmakers don't do much with the background in most shots.

Overall, it's a pleasantly entertaining film that could have done much more with some of the unique elements in the story.

I enjoyed 'Spud' today. I wasn't expecting much, which always helps. It was filmed in my old school, Michaelhouse, and it shows it very well for the beautiful place that it is - in a lovely setting.

Mostly the action is quite accurate too, for live in that particular boarding school, as I remember it. It hasn't changed all that much, either, over the past 35 odd years. The old Chemistry Lecture theatre is now the English classroom in the film, which seems slightly odd. The theatre was being built when I was there - a boy called Cook, fell through the skylight onto the floor below, leaving his teethmarks in the floor. He fell in front of the painting of the three witches in Macbeth - which I didn't see in the film, sensible.

The acting is good, and the South African accents authentic without being too grating. John Cleese acts very well - an not his usual comic style at all.

I'm not sure how you'll find the film if you didn't go to school there - probably better because you'll not be thinking of what all the different places meant to you, over the years!

I went in with very low expectations as I usually do for most south African films but with a revitalisation of the local film industry I thought let me do the right thing and give it a chance.

Well I'm glad I did, for two reasons, one the film was very well acted and all credit goes to "Spud" as well as the inimitable Mr Cleese, an unsung icon of the silver screen if every there was one, and two it's great to see something other than Schuster Slapstick or Afrikaans kitsch making money at the local is lekker box office.

So why the 6 out of 10. A few things spring to mind. The direction, with all due respect to Donavon Marsh, felt very pedestrian, nothing jumped out of the screen as feeling fresh or original. I realise the film was set in 1990 but did it have to feel like it was made in 1990.

The pace was off - it felt all over the place - sometimes it dragged and sometimes it was a great time at the movies. The editing of the film seemed very rushed, obvious and almost unfinished (which is unusual considering Megan Gill is probably our biggest editing export) (maybe that's just professional jealously talking ;) and lastly which for me was the greatest problem of all was the appalling musical score which really diluted so many of the films key dramatic moments.

Why Ed Jordan was used to create anything other than a cheesy early nineties advertising jingle is beyond me.

But look this may sound terribly negative but the film showed huge promise and with more time, tighter scissors and a vastly different score we could have had south Africa's answer to, dare I day it "Dead Poets Society Lite" But well done - very valiant effort with it heart in all the right places... :)

Having enjoyed the book and grown up around that time I was anxious to see how the movie turned out. Many nostalgic memories were aroused during the movie. I thought it was well made and true to the book - a good mix of humour and the serious business of growing up. The acting was good (Cleese was brilliant - exactly how I pictured the guv) and the scenery was great - I love the Natal Midlands.

The crazy eight could have been better developed. I wanted to see more of Mad Dog and Vern.

Sadly I don't think it is going to appeal to a wider audience outside South Africa. I imagine that most guys from the US just wont get it or appreciate it as they will not be familiar with the historical context of the time. I hope I am wrong because it is a good movie.

I don't know whether I can give an impartial review of this movie, but I'd like to try. You see, I was at the same school, but about 15 years before John van der Ruit. And I couldn't finish the book. It brought back too many unhappy memories. But I managed to stay the course for the movie ! Spud chronicles the first year for John (Spud) Milton at Michaelhouse, an elite boys-only boarding school in the KwaZulu-Natal countryside. It was filmed at the school itself, although for some reason the name was never mentioned, and the uniform, war-cry etc were all changed.

Spud is funny, touching, poignant, and the scenery is pretty too. I'm referring to the countryside around, but the young ladies in the cast contribute here as well. All actors are good/adequate in their roles, and John Cleese makes a creditable transition as an actor from clown to wise old man. Troye Sivan is very good as the bemused and put-upon Spud.

My problem with the book, and with the movie to a certain extent as well, is no fault of John van der Ruit or the movie makers themselves. It's about the people that you have to live with in such a situation.

I spent 5 years at Michaelhouse, and 2 years in National Service, and what made both times a lot less happy than they needed to be, were the people who went out of their way to make other people's lives unpleasant. In Spud it's Rambo, and to a lesser extent, one or two others in the Crazy Eight. Rambo especially, cannot just get on with his life and let others get on with theirs, he has to drag everyone along on his idiotic escapades. And then when they go awry, everyone has to pay. A thoroughly unpleasant person, but one who brought back memories of many such people in school and the army.

It's ironic that one of the books that the Guv offers to Spud, "Catch 22", falls into the same category for me. I've tried to read it twice ! But I find the character of Yossarian to be very similar to Rambo, and I can't get past a certain point. Maybe my reading of it is too coloured by my life in these 2 institutions.

I hope there are sequels and that we can follow Spud throughout his scholastic career. My life at Michaelhouse improved over the years as I learned to ignore the idiots and pursue my own interests. Let's hope we can trace Spud's rise similarly.

And I hope at the end of the final chapter, the camera lingers on the charge over the doorway into the Memorial Hall - a charge that I passed on to my own son at his coming of age - QUIT YOU LIKE MEN !