Rick Morin: Movie Review - What We Did On Our Holiday

Starring:  Billy Connolly, David Tennant and Rosamund Pike.

Doug (David Tennant) and Abi (Rosamund Pike) are taking their three children on a trip to Scotland for a big family gathering for Doug’s father Gordie’s (Billy Connolly) birthday. They are in the midst of a difficult divorce, and have asked the kids to keep it a secret from their extended family, especially their grandfather - but he picks up on the subterfuge fairly quickly.

As the inevitable feuds kick in, a completely unexpected turn of events involving the children causes further tensions to rise to the surface. I won’t say exactly what happens, but it stems from an off the cuff remark made by their grandfather about the way he’d like to shuffle off this mortal coil.

By the way, Gordie is dying of cancer. This “event” could have easily turned into a rather absurd, darkly comedic scene - like something you’d see in a Ben Stiller movie. But it didn’t.  It was actually very touching and heartfelt... while still being funny! And the reason this scene worked so well was because of the three young actors playing the kids - they are the real stars in this film.

While adult actors’ lines were scripted, the child actors were allowed to improvise to a degree; in other words, they were allowed to be themselves. This approach worked beautifully and produced dialogue that was more spontaneous and natural. Billy Connolly also gave an outstanding performance bringing much warmth and wit to the big screen.

“What We Did on Our Holiday” is a film the whole family needs to see – but make certain they don’t come away with any ideas about how Nan and Pop should be fare welled!