--- title: "Cemetery Junction: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/cemetery-junction/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/cemetery-junction" critics_score: 62 critics_reviews: 15 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Cemetery Junction (2010): what the critics said Critics' score 62 from 15 reviews: 8 positive, 5 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics find Gervais and Merchant’s first film a warm, likeable coming-of-age story, and the praise gathers around the same things: the 1970s Reading setting, recreated with affection, a young cast who make their small-town dreamers easy to root for, and a glam-rock soundtrack that keeps the mood buoyant. Several reviews note that this is a mainstream British film with ambition and a sense of pacing, closer to the American youth picture than to gritty realism, and Eye for Film calls it the strongest thing Gervais has been involved with since The Office. The reservations cluster around the writing. Even admirers call the plot formulaic and the romances too close to the directors’ sitcom; the harsher notices find no wit or insight underneath the nostalgia. The spread is wide, from four stars to outright rejection, and the dissent is largely American: Variety finds it drowning in schmaltz, and The Hollywood Reporter calls it dull and predictable. ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 9 April 2010. Cemetery Junction is a bitter-sweet and subtly funny coming-of-age tale that marks another string to Gervais and Merchant's bow as an engrossing and thoughtful comedy drama deserving of an audience. The young leads impress and the script balances drama and poignancy while evoking a parochial small-town mentality. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/cemetery-junction/5011923.article) ## Empire — Ian Freer Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 March 2010. The film is a refreshing British take on the American coming-of-age youth movie, capturing the fun and warmth of small-town friendships evolving in 1970s Reading. It stands out for its likeable performances, affection for the characters, and engaging rites-of-passage story rather than gritty realism. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/cemetery-junction-review/) ## The AV Club — Noel Murray Rating B-. 18 August 2010. The film draws more from other movies than real experience, resulting in clichés and predictability despite rich period detail and some flashes of comic genius. The critic praises the period detail and occasional comic moments but complains about the reliance on tropes. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/cemetery-junction-1798165708) ## Time Out — Ben Walters Rating 3 out of 5 stars. 13 April 2010. The film is a coming-of-age story with emotional resonance that fits the directors' prior work, but it feels formulaic at times and its romances echo their sitcom too closely. It is refreshing to see a mainstream British film with studio-level ambition. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/cemetery-junction) ## Total Film — Andy Lowe Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 March 2010. Gervais and Merchant prove themselves as filmmakers with a strong sense of pacing and character in this energetic drama about ambition and friendship in 1970s Reading. It balances sweetness and sharpness while exploring big themes without relying on typical British film clichés. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/cemetery-junction-review/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 15 April 2010. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant deliver a lively, big-hearted Likely Lads-style throwback about working-class lads in 1970s Reading chasing dreams and girls while pulled back by loyalty and hometown inertia. The critic praises the affectionate 70s details and hopeful ending but finds the work sketchy, the tone regressive and sentimentalised, and the film entertaining yet neither fully funny nor sufficiently sharp. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/apr/15/cemetery-junction-ricky-gervais-review) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 3 March 2014. Gervais and Merchant's semi-autobiographical 70s comedy-drama about three young men in Reading is an uneasy blend of personal warmth and formulaic elements, with awkward sitcom tone in places. The critic notes the film's determination to be feel-good ultimately succeeds through its cosy, breezy vibe and glam-rock soundtrack despite lacking novelty. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/7595538/Cemetery-Junction-review.html) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The production design and young cast bring the 1970s period to life vividly, creating warmth and care for the characters and their small-town world. However, the story relies too heavily on clichés and lacks originality or fresh insight, making it entertaining but ultimately disappointing. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/all-the-young-dudes-in-cemetery-junction-7419470.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 14 October 2010. The critic finds the film dull and predictable, lacking the wit of Gervais and Merchant's TV work, with tired characters and plot lines. They single out the lack of insight into the characters and settings for complaint. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/cemetery-junction-film-review-29493/) ## Variety — Andrew Barker Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 9 August 2010. The critic finds the film clichéd and lacking wit or heart, drowning in schmaltz despite good acting and period details. They single out the hackneyed plot resolutions and moralizing as complaints. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2010/film/reviews/cemetery-junction-1117943306/) ## Eye for Film — Stephen Carty Rating 4/5. 21 April 2010. A superb drama-comedy and the best thing Gervais has been involved with since The Office, with assured direction, a strong young cast led by Christian Cooke and Tom Hughes, excellent supporting turns, and a cracking soundtrack. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/cemetery-junction-film-review-by-stephen-carty) ## HeyUGuys — Jon Lyus Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 13 April 2010. The debut feature from Gervais and Merchant is their most touching and accomplished work, a coming-of-age story about three friends in a dead-end town that avoids cloying nostalgia thanks to strong performances and a funny script with social awkwardness. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/review-cemetery-junction/) ## NME — Stuart McGurk Rating 3.5/5. 15 April 2010. The critic praises it as a warm, affectionate, sweet-natured, and genuinely uplifting coming-of-age drama that is good-natured, fun, effortless and well-done with visual flair, though it does not reinvent the wheel and edges close to familiar territory. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-movie-11215-311654) ## Den of Geek — Michael Leader Rating 3/5. 12 April 2010. The critic finds it a safe, pleasant, and well-made promising debut that is expertly plotted with a bright, warm tone inviting nostalgia and gentle humour, but notes it is too straightforward, overwrites themes, and lacks distinctiveness or bite. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/cemetery-junction-review-2/) ## The Playlist — Oliver Lyttelton Rating C. 16 April 2010. A half-realized coming-of-age tale that is not an out-and-out comedy but lacks subtlety and substance despite good performances from the young cast and some strong supporting turns; the tone is light and genial but the film feels like a first draft. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-cemetery-junction-is-half-20100416/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/cemetery-junction.md