Review of Bonnie & Clive – a fun Covid road trip | Video

No discourage any Clives to read, but the deliberate title of the film does not inspire confidence – and it seems to indicate the pleasant humor of a very low-key British comedy. It’s about three twentysomethings on a trip to Cornwall at the start of one of the Covid lockdowns; from the outtakes and the behind-the-scenes footage that goes on to the finale, everyone involved was very impressed. But that joy doesn’t show on screen – and the funny ukulele accompaniment starts to wear thin after less than half a minute.

Eleanor May Blackburn is Bonnie, who has two days to get to her grandmother’s house in Cornwall from south London before it closes. Just before hitting the road, Bonnie meets homeless Clive (Michael Kodi Farrow) and offers to buy him a kebab. But when his credit card is rejected at the till, he runs off without paying, leaving Clive to play stickers and his ukulele story to the delight of the kebab shop owner.

The two set off in a retro 1990s car, picking up the hitchhiker Wilco (James Jip), a social studies student who has run away from the university, unable to close. There are plenty of screen shots as they drive west, as well as great moments at tourist sites including Stonehenge and Dartmoor, and some of the trio pushing a dead body on a bike around the Eden Project. It’s relentless, it’s annoying, and some of the performances have the over-the-top, exaggerated style that children’s TV is known for.