Two adorable scallywags on a pushbike road trip and demonstrating stupidity, heart and Gallic humour aplenty? I’m in. The dual leads (Alex Murphy and Chris Walley, sporting equally horrendous teen face fuzz and questionable fashion sense) could have great things on their horizon judging by their chemistry and charisma here. The problem with THE YOUNG OFFENDERS is that it never manages to top (or bunny hop) its hilarious and perfectly judged first half. It starts as a simple, no-nonsense teen road movie that wouldn’t feel out of place in the mid-to-late 80s. Unfortunately it drifts off track and tries to be too many things it really isn’t by the end. The choice of villain who appears late in the story left a bad taste in my mouth, but I’ll admit I’m a sucker for a black comedy, and nobody does black comedy better than the Irish. The charm, the honesty and warmth of this modest little venture more than makes up for them occasionally overreaching themselves.
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About SSP
Sam Sewell-Peterson
Writer and film fanatic fond of black comedies, sci-fi, animation and films about dysfunctional families.
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