On TV: Tuesday 26th May 2011
Channel: BBC Four 9-10.20pm
Episode Type: One-off drama
In 1 Sentence: Nostalgic view of a Royal Wedding gone by - with plenty of street drama thrown in.
BBC Summary: It is 1981, Charles loves Di, Toxteth is rioting and Margaret Thatcher is trying to reform the economy. In a small Welsh village beginning to feel the negative effects of Thatcher's free market policies, the royal wedding of Charles and Di gives the community and the Caddock family a chance to forget their problems and unite.
Idealistic 15-year-old Tammy Caddock has organised a royal wedding street party but during the course of the celebrations, events unfold which change the lives of her family and the community forever.
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My Review: To be honest I was a little disappointed by Royal Wedding. After fantastic drama’s like United and Women In Love to name but a few it didn’t hold as much gravitas and certainly didn’t draw me in as others have.
My main complaint is that it felt too long. The drama going on with the Caddock family felt old and done before and the backdrop of the wedding didn’t feel fully taken advantage of. It was great to see some 80’s issues thrown in with factories closing and seeing communities come together like that. It was shot with a ‘warm hazy’ feel which contrasted nicely with the darkness of some of the subplots.
The acting, though, was quite decent. No-one fully stood out except for Sarah Hadland playing Sherry, Alan’s wife who has an affair with the lead Linda Caddock. She was quite a background character but she really portrayed her well and it was a nice change to see the actress go more serious as I’m used to her playing Stevie in BBC’s Miranda. Rebekah Staton was also good as Linda’s best friend switching from light to dark in seconds - all in her eyes.
I also loved hearing some 80’s music as the soundtrack, tying the whole drama together.
Yet I think it could have been much better, but was still good enough to warrant a 5 out of 10.
Score: 5/10
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