“Joanne Hartley is simply brilliant in this lead role, putting in a performance worthy of a BAFTA”
BY INDRA FALLON
In a world where giant vegetables rule, can one woman find her stolen marrows in time to achieve her destiny? Dear Lord, don’t we all need a laugh right now? And if it takes a quirky Britcom, based on the fiercely competitive world of horticulture competitions, then fine.
Swede Caroline stars Joanne Hartley, co-star of 2021’s award-winning queer coming-of-age romance Sweetheart, where she played the overbearing and over-supportive mum of Nell Barlow’s angsty gay teen on an enforced British seaside holiday.
Quite simply, it’s simply the most hilarious film you’ll catch this year. If you’ve fallen out of the movie going habit, you need to get back into it for this one. Trust me on this one. Is it War And Peace? No. Is it Dune or yet another Marvel fightfest? It’s not that either. It is, though, a light-hearted movie that will bring a smile to your face.
Swede Caroline crosses all genres from its mockumentary beginnings, when the title character has high hopes of winning the best marrow prize at the National Vegetables Championship – only to end up getting disqualified. She gets mixed up with private investigators and hires them to track down her mega-marrows when they are stolen from her garden. Meanwhile, her two male friends, Paul and Willy (I kid you not), are desperate for her attention and help her to crack the case.
For all the silliness, the storyline keeps you gripped as the plot twists like a runner bean up a line of canes down the local allotments. Joanne Hartley is simply brilliant in this lead role, putting in a performance worthy of a BAFTA, and is supported by a cast of household names. And at 98 minutes, you’ll certainly be able to fit it in between pruning sessions. Recommended as one of your five a day.
Swede Caroline is out in cinemas now.
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