Extreme Makeover: Rom Com Edition

Love, or something like it, is explored in the film, “Tamara Drewe,” based on Posy Simmonds’s graphic novel. The film focuses on a small English town where people have nothing to do and the return of the infamous title character who shakes things up with her new sex appeal and surgically altered nose. 

Gemma Arterton plays a complex Tamara Drewe, a girl who grew up to be a beautiful swan but is still dealing with ugly duckling syndrome. Arterton is flanked by a stellar supporting cast.

Tamsin Greig is heartbreaking and loving as the wife who is continuously cheated on by her husband, and Jessica Barden is great comic relief as the starstruck town teenager who is always in trouble.

The film is smart, witty and mostly true to the graphic novel. It is well-acted and well-written, and it puts an interesting twist on the standard romantic comedy.