Dir: Nick Moorcroft, UK, 2026, 93 mins.
Cast: Martin Clunes, Jonno Davies, Mark Addy, James Buckley, Gabriella Wilde, Luke Treadaway
Review by Carlie Newman
Pop-star, Cal (Jonno Davies) returns to the family Pub, The Drovers, after many years away touring. He has met by his father, Mick (Martin Clunes) who is still very angry with his son for missing his mother‘s funeral. Cal‘s brother Jake is struggling too as he copes alone with his daughter after abandonment by his wife.
The Drovers Pub is rapidly going downhill: the food is bad, Mick is an ungracious host, and the Pub is seriously in debt. Meanwhile, the Pub opposite, which is modernised and up-to-date, is very popular and run by the smarmy pub owner, Pritchard ((Luke Treadaway).
Cal looks into recipes left by his father and brews a new beer, which proves so popular that it wins in a local competition and is sent to the finals in London. Also going to the finals is Pritchard. Cal has returned partly to see his family, but also to reconnect with his former girlfriend, Abi (Gabriella Wilde). He is most upset to find that she is now in a relationship with the ghastly Pritchard. We later learn that Cal had a nervous breakdown when he learned of his mother’s death.
It doesn’t require rocket science to work out the rest of the story, but it’s well told and has many laughs along the way. Clunes, as always, gives a masterful performance, and the rest of the cast are lively and give boisterous interpretations of their characters.
With a good feeling for the scenery that surrounds the Somerset pub, and an emotional contact with the declining Pub trade, Moorcraft gives us a pleasant film, which is easy to watch and most enjoyable.
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