Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on July 2014

What is it with filmed jukebox musicals? What makes them work (when they do)? What makes them flop? Perhaps the lack of intimacy and immediacy a stage version offers. Or maybe some people have little patience for films that break into song every ten minutes. I liked the micro-budgeted Once, and even caught my toe tapping from time to time during Mamma Mia. I’ll deny this later. But I found this adaptation of the Edinburgh local stage hit cloying, predictable and superficial, and more than a wee bit twee. Relentlessly perky, it bends a soapy story around the music of the Proclaimers, a roster of, to most, startlingly unfamiliar pop songs save for “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” a boisterous, crowd-sourced version of which breathes some badly needed life into the film. Unfortunately, it’s the finale and too late. Peter Mullan sings. ‘Nuff said. But so does Jane Horrocks, so there’s that. Alleged plot has three couples dealing with mostly manufactured bumps on the road to everlasting love. The suspense! Best enjoyed, obviously, by Scots, Proclaimers fans or those who just like Edinburgh (who doesn’t?), which provides some great backdrops for all the schmaltz. (100 min)