Yesterday marked the 14th anniversary of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and what better way to celebrate one of my favourite films than by doing a re-watch review. This film really defined my teen years and it’s still one of my favourites to this day. It’s absolutely cringe and overly dramatic but I love it. 

This is a long one so get comfy. Also, I’m aware that the title in the graphic I created is slightly wonky, I drew it myself so it isn’t perfect!

Synopsis

An eccentric but loveable teenage girl maintains a diary about the ups and downs of being a teenager and tries to overcome the trials and tribulations of growing up.

Cast

Georgia Groome – Georgia Nicholson

Aaron Taylor-Johnson – Robbie 

Eleanor Tomlinson – Jas 

Manjeveen Grewal – Ellen

Georgia Henshaw – Rosie Barnes

Kimberly Nixon – Slaggy Lindsay

Tommy Bastow – Dave The Laugh

Best Character

The savage queen that is Ellen. I find it so funny that she’s waiting outside Peter’s house when Georgia leaves. She’s definitely the secret main character in my eyes.

She’s the most outspoken of the whole group, but it makes up for it in shade for Georgia. My theory is that Ellen wanted Robbie herself and so she tried to bring Georgia down whenever she could. Not to fear though her story ended well, she ends up getting with Dave The Laugh, who is a personal fave of mine. 

Best Supporting/Obscure Character

Georgia’s younger sister Libby is actually hilarious. She loves to dress up Angus, she thinks she’s part cat and she licked Robbie. What a legend. 

The best obscure character has to be Rosie’s boyfriend Sven. He’s only on screen for like five seconds but his dance moves were top-notch. Let’s not discuss his outfit though, the guy had on a white tank top and gold chain.  

For comedy value I have to give it to Peter Dyer, he’s a bit of a creep but his character is hilarious. The Bieber haircut, the huge Hugh Grant poster in his bedroom and the absolute mess he was when he thought Georgia was a lesbian. He’s obviously not a good person, I am aware of that. In no way am I condemning his actions, but his whole character arc is quite funny. 

Favourite Scenes

The part where Georgia is running through Eastbourne in her olive costume has to be mentioned because it’s so iconic. I can’t listen to She’s So Lovely by Scouting For Girls without thinking of that scene. 

You have to mention the snogging scale when talking about Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. For those who don’t know what the scale is I suggest you look it up, as honestly, I find it kind of gross when looking at it as an adult, especially as they were only 14. It’s surprisingly explicit. It’s crazy to think this was in a teen book/film. I can’t remember exactly what the scale is in the film but I don’t remember hearing about ‘below waist activity’.

Before getting to the end of the scale you see Robbie and Tom for the first time and what an entrance they made. I love the ‘boy stalking’ montage as it’s definitely something girls would have done back then. Now you don’t need to follow your crush around Eastbourne, just look at their Instagram. 

I love the whole scene in the fruit and veg shop. It’s the first time you properly meet Tom and Robbie and you get some of the most iconic moments in the whole film. Jas and Georgia go in there with the intention of acting ‘cool and sophisticated’ to impress the boys and the result is hilarious. My favourite part of the whole sequence is when Jas and Georgia leave and randomly start singing big fish, little fish, cardboard box in the street. I still don’t understand why they did this, but it seems like something I would have done. Was I cringe?

Georgia’s party needs to be mentioned. Can I just say though I would not ‘snog’ my boyfriend on stage in front of my family. Definitely not at 15 and still not at 23. Bit cringe really. 

Best Quotes/Lines 

The first best line has to go to “Phwoar they are sex gods” from one of Georgia’s best friends Rosie. This cracks me up every time. Did teens actually speak like that back then? In 2008 I was around 9 or 10 so I wouldn’t actually know, but hey she wasn’t wrong. 

Jas had to be one of the funniest characters, she had some of the best one-liners “God I’m having a nervy b” is one of my favourites. The term nervy b should absolutely still be used now. I’m going to add it to my vocabulary and use it whenever possible. 

Georgia’s mom has some of the best lines in the film. She’s very much a cool/fun mom. The scene where she finds Georgia and Jas at Tom and Robbie’s mom’s organic produce shop brings some of the funniest lines. The best for me was “But Georiga apples give you wind”. A classic bit of embarrassment from a parent in front of your crush. Something like this would have killed me back then, now I’d find it funny. Nothing your parents say is funny when you’re a teenager though. 

Another brilliant line from this scene (which was before the previous one) is “Well, you know your onions don’t you Jas?”. So random, yet hilarious. The things teenage girls would do to impress their crush. Yes of course I know all about onions aren’t I super cool and interesting. Hilarious. 

Has everyone got their tickets yet? Where to you ask, well Vulgaria obviously. “I always knew she was from Vulgaria” is so iconic I couldn’t not include it. If you haven’t seen Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, or don’t have a great memory of it this is the scene where the girls see that Slaggy Lindsay is wearing a thong. Hence why she’s from Vulgaria. I haven’t read the books so I don’t know if it’s from them or just this script but whoever came up with that line is a genius. 

Speaking of Slaggy Lindsay she has one of my absolute favourite lines. It’s so savage, but I love it. “Listen, short arse, keep away from my man. He’s not a cradle-snatcher, and you’re not woman enough for him. So BACK OFF”. Georgia is only a few years younger so the fact that Lindsay says Robbie would be a cradle-snatcher if he got with Georgia is so ridiculously funny. Her delivery on this is perfect, I love Kimberly Nixon. 

The pool scene really was a gift to the world. Robbie meets Georgia’s younger sister for the first time and her reaction is pure gold. “Libby, this is Robbie. Libby, stop licking Robbie. She thinks she’s part cat.” She saw her chance and she took it. Good on you Libby, many young girls at the time would have done the same thing. Myself included. 

Weirdly when I watched this film on All4 they had cut out certain lines. One of which being my favourite “I wrote a song about you. Really? It’s called “Bitch in Uniform”. Robbie says this to Georgia when they’re talking on the beach and it gets me every time. I think it’s because this film doesn’t swear often, as it was a Nickelodeon production so the brashness of it catches you off guard. Man, I’d love a song written about me called Bitch In Uniform, especially if it was written by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. 

Favourite Outfit

This was in the height of the 2000s so let’s be honest the fashion is god awful. I will say that Georgia’s birthday outfit is pretty cute though, she looked good. The sparkly eyeshadow and thick bottom line eyeliner, are so 2000s. What a queen. 

Not an outfit, but Georgia’s orange legs have to be mentioned. Possibly the most cringeworthy moment, it gives me major second-hand embarrassment, but hilarious. I’ve never been one for tan myself but I know a lot of people faced a similar fate back then. 

The Angus rocks T-shirt Robbie wears at Georgia’s party has to take the award for best outfit. I would legit wear it, even now that Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging has been out for 14 years. 

Favourite Setting 

Peter Dyer’s room gets funnier the closer you look at it. The guy has a massive digital timer just sitting on a shelf, which is for his kissing business. But what I want to know is have his parents questioned why he has it? 

Also as I mentioned in the best supporting character category, he has a huge poster of Hugh Grant. I don’t know why he has it, but it’s hilarious.

The gig in Brighton is also a top setting for me as it’s where I live now. I don’t think the venue they’re at exists anymore. Also, how did a bunch of underage kids get into a gig that clearly serves alcohol? Baffling, but it’s a great scene. 

Best Musical Moments 

Ultraviolet by The Stiff Dylans is still an absolute banger, you will never convince me otherwise. I love this scene especially as Robbie says he wrote the song for Georgia and then has another band member perform it. I’d never noticed just how funny that is until I got a bit older, and now that whole scene cracks me up. 

As I mentioned in the favourite scenes section, She’s So Lovely by Scouting For Girls is quite possibly the most iconic song from Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Other than anything performed by The Stiff Dylans, obviously. 

Ever Fallen in Love performed by The Stiff Dylans in Brighton is such a great musical moment. I will say that Aaron Taylor-Johnsons pretend bass playing needs a bit of work though. 

Thoughts/Opinions That Don’t Fit Into A Specific Category 

Although Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Robbie was one of my first crushes I also liked Dave the Laugh. Personally, I think he was very underrated. He genuinely liked Georgia and she was so horrible to him. 

Georgia is actually really mean. She constantly talks down to her friends, she told Jas she’s half-girl half-turnip. Pretty rude if you ask me. She didn’t deserve Robbie if you ask me, well maybe nearer the end when she realises how selfish she can be. Saying that they were all pretty selfish, but it’s to be expected from teens really.  

To this day I still wonder how they managed to fill out an entire club of people when Georgia and her friends aren’t even slightly popular. Why did everyone suddenly turn on Slaggy Lindsay when she hadn’t public shamed herself yet. Did I miss something? 

Also, can I just say the fact that her character is actually called Slaggy Lindsay is quite funny, but would not pass these days. She was 16 about to turn 17 and everyone was calling her a slag, a bit mean if you ask me. 

I find it so strange that only a select few characters have full names. Probably not that strange but why out of all of Georgia’s friends did Rosie have a last name. She’s not even in the film very much. Surely Jas as Georgia’s best friend should have a last name? Am I thinking too much into this, probably? 

This film will always remain one of my favourites as I love it so much if you couldn’t tell from the length of this post. It is a little dated now, but that’s to be expected from a film in 2008, but it’s still very funny.

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