What We Did on Our Holiday

Not to be confused with What We Did on Our Holidays.
What We Did on Our Holiday

Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Produced by
  • Norman Merry
  • Suzanne Reid
  • Ed Rubin
  • David M. Thompson
  • Dan Winch
Written by
  • Andy Hamilton
  • Guy Jenkin
Starring
Music by Alex Heffes
Cinematography Martin Hawkins
Edited by
  • Steve Tempia
  • Mark Williams
Production
company
Distributed by Lionsgate
Release dates
  • 26 September 2014 (2014-09-26) (UK)
  • 10 July 2015 (2015-07-10) (US)
Running time
 95 minutes[1]
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget £3.5 million
Box office $10.7 million[2]

What We Did on Our Holiday is a 2014 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. The film, starring David Tennant, Rosamund Pike, and Billy Connolly, was inspired by[3] but not related to the BBC show Outnumbered.

Plot

Doug McLeod (David Tennant) and his wife Abi (Rosamund Pike) unite following a tense separation to travel to the Scottish Highlands for Doug's father Gordie's (Billy Connolly) 75th birthday. Gordie has terminal cancer so Doug's brother, millionaire Gavin McLeod (Ben Miller) has arranged a lavish party for him, inviting all the important people in the neighbourhood. Despite difficulties getting their three children, Lottie (Emilia Jones), Mickey (Bobby Smalldridge), and Jess (Harriet Turnbull), to leave the house, they hit the road, but find it congested and they are forced to stop overnight. Lottie expresses her troubles with trusting her parents following their recent separation and lies to each other; it is revealed that Doug had an affair, which led to Abi moving out and taking legal proceedings against him. They are only traveling to the Highlands together to appear as a couple for Gordie, not wanting to upset him in his final months.

On arriving at Gavin's mansion, a tense rivalry becomes apparent between Doug and Gavin, while Gordie, despite being extremely ill, is fun-loving and encourages the children, particularly Lottie, to let go of their troubles and enjoy life. While Gavin, Doug, Abi and Gavin's wife Margaret (Amelia Bullmore) make the final arrangements for the party, Gordie takes the three children to the beach. He reveals that he is descended from Vikings, a fact that Mickey in particular is excited about; he reveals his desire to be buried 'the Viking way' by being cremated and sent out to sea. He believes this will stop arguments between Doug and Gavin. Later, while Lottie, Mickey and Jess are playing, Gordie dies. Lottie returns back to the house to tell the adults, leaving her siblings with Gordie's body. However, when she sees them all arguing, Abi telling Doug she also had an affair, and Gavin with his family over what Gordie wants for his birthday, she returns to the beach without telling them. Fulfilling Gordie's last wish, the three children create an improvised raft, and using petrol from Gordie's pickup, send him out to sea aflame, 'Viking' style.

They return home and tell the adults what has happened. Doug and Gavin head to the beach, where they find Gordie's pick-up truck partially submerged by the high tide; Gavin breaks down in Doug's arms. Abi and Margaret break the news to the party guests, and word quickly gets out about what the children did. The police arrive to investigate, accompanied by social services worker Agnes Chisholm (Celia Imrie), who interviews the children on their actions, contemplating removing them from Doug and Abi's care. The press descend on the house, with Lottie, Jess and Mickey's actions making headlines worldwide. While using Gavin and Margaret's son Kenneth's (Lewis Davie) computer, Mickey and Jess accidentally stumble upon a video of Margaret attacking a fellow shopper at a supermarket as a result of depression. Gavin also sees it, having been previously unaware of his wife's issues. After the press paints the children's actions as depraved, Doug and Abi make a statement to the press that what their children did was not malicious, and that they are both competent parents; seeing the support the children receive, Chisholm ends her investigation.

In the final scene, Gavin and Doug hold a memorial for Gordie at the beach, where the brothers are shown to have buried the hatchet. Abi also reveals she will not be moving to Newcastle, and the couple decide to work out their problems, apologising to their children. The film ends with the extended family holding a small memorial on a hill above the beach with some friends, and then the family playfully splashing around at the water's edge on the beach.

Cast

Production

The film was shot on location in Glasgow and the Scottish Highlands between 27 June and 2 August 2013.[4] The beach scenes were filmed at Gairloch.[5] The family home of Gavin McLeod is in Drymen near Loch Lomond.[5] The ostriches farmed by Gordie's friend Doreen are actually located at Blair Drummond Safari Park.[5]

Release

What We Did on Our Holiday was released in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2014 and in the United States on 10 July 2015.[6]

Box office

The film earned £6,390,566 in the United Kingdom and $1,976,185 in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates, totaling $8,366,751 worldwide.[2]

Critical reception

The film received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 73% rating based on 41 reviews with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's consensus states: "Witty and well-cast, What We Did on Our Holiday injects unlikely laughs into a story dealing with dark, difficult themes."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a 54 out of 100 rating, based on 14 critics.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAY (12A)". Lions Gate Entertainment. British Board of Film Classification. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  2. 1 2 "What We Did on Our Holiday (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  3. ↑ http://www.comedy.co.uk/news/story/00000777/outnumbered_inspired_film_bbc_jenkin_hamilton/
  4. ↑ http://www.david-tennant-news.com/what-we-did-on-our-holiday/
  5. 1 2 3 "Where is What We Did On Our Holiday Filmed?". Radio Times. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "What We Did on Our Holiday (2014) Release Info". IMDB. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "What We Did on Our Holiday". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "What We Did on Our Holiday". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
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