Review of Vroom (1988) by Erik H — 19 Jul 2008

I ordered a second-hand VHS of this, as I recall them filming parts of this on my street when I was a kid. I was too young to watch it back then, but recently decided it was high time I did. Let's be fair - it's not a great film.

It vaguely attempts to tackle the tension in life between a sense of freedom and adventure, and the realities of responsibility and the near-inevitability of settling down. In truth it probably discusses these issues more than tackles or resolves them.

The plot's sufficient to drive the film along but not really very complex. The film is full of cocky Northern women, and a whole load of interesting "Northern" characters. While I was barely a teenager in '88 and perhaps hadn't had an eyeful of the full spectrum of Northern life at that age, something in me found some of the depictions of Northerners a little bit over the top, although quite affectionately done none-the-less.

The film's ending is frankly bizarre, but I guess at least you don't see it coming! So, in truth, for most folk, there's no good reason to watch this film. It's not awful by any means, but it's not outstanding, probably in any way whatsoever.

If, like me, you lived in Pendle during the 80s, you might like it for a bit of street spotting (Nelson features heavily and I spotted Colne at the end too), but this film is probably not of much interest to the average man in the street.