Starter for 10 is infuriatingly average. It has so much potential, but in the end it is reduced to an everyday romance film with little magic. What should have been the main draw and comedic heart of the film, University Challenge, is reduced to a mi... (read more) Starter for 10 is infuriatingly average. It has so much potential, but in the end it is reduced to an everyday romance film with little magic. What should have been the main draw and comedic heart of the film, University Challenge, is reduced to a minor footnote in the overall plot. McAvoy doesn't display as much emotion here as compared to something like The Last King of Scotland, and that is a great shame. The secondary cast are perfectly competent, but what is missing is a heart and soul. The plotline, about how Essex lad Brian manages to gain entrance to Bristol University and then wrangle his way onto the University Challenge team, has that typical coming-of-age aspect that so many of these type of films share, but it seems to skip lightly over the most important facets of the journey. If anything, I would be tempted to accuse the film of simply being cliched. There are some great cameos here and there though, such as Mark Gatiss as a great Bamber Gascoigne, and Catherine Tate as Brian's mother. I also enjoyed Cumberbatch's performance as Patrick, the only character who could really be designated as funny. Starter for 10 will keep you watching for most of it, but in the end it just doesn't manage to keep its finger on the buzzer.

Although a tad predictable, it's charming enough at what it does so as to never be less than pleasant.

This really gives me the 80's feelings.

James McAvoy was the only reason to take this film home with me and I was happily surprised by it. While looking forward to his next adventures this was a fun little student thing, nothing much to it.

A great British film! Touching and hilarious with a fantastic cast.

dats really a nice movie .....
u must c it .......

just for the nostalgia e.g. the music, university challenge, the student protests and the hair-dos

Don't mind the featherweight plot. A cheeky comedy with sex and smarts earns a passing grade.

Shifting the self-deprecating japery of High Fidelity from a record store to a quiz show makes Starter for 10 a sweetly endearing date movie.

Terrific fun. A funny, romantic, seriously smart comedy. Do yourself a favor and put this at the top of your must-see list.

A surprisingly agile and delightfully warm romantic comedy, set in the 1980s, with a not-so-hot-for-export title.

The writing is nimble, the performances engaging and the story of a working-class boy who yearns to distinguish himself by acquiring knowledge is witty and intelligent.