I signed up to SeeFilmFirst some time ago but always seemed to miss out on the exclusive previews they did in Brighton. Not so with today's screening of Chalet Girl. What with it's uninspiring concept and trailer I was very glad I was seeing this film for free. But unlike my other recent free film The Kids Are Alright, I would have happily paid to see this.
Chalet Girl tells the story of Kim (Felicity Jones), an up-and-coming talent in the world of pro skateboarding. She quits when a car accident causes the untimely death of her mother. With her skateboarding career set aside, she takes on a job at a local burger bar which allows her to financially take care of her father, Bill (Bill Bailey). With a shot at earning more money, Kim decides to take a job as a chalet girl. At expected, she finds the move to Austria and her new job to be quite an adjustment from her old life. Kim is now working for the rich family who own a large part of the ski-resort (if not the whole resort), and in her spare time she is making new friends and learning to snowboard. One of Kim's new friends Mikki (Ken Duken) convinces her to enter the up coming snowboarding competition, in which she could win $25,000, which would dramatically help her situation at home. In the midst of all this she grows ever closer to the son of the rich family, Jonny (Ed Westwick), who is hiding the fact that he is engaged to a girl his family deems much more 'suitable' for him than Kim.
Chalet Girl could have been very contrived and annoying but I am very happy to say that it wasn't, on either count. Admittedly this is because it appealed to my inner 12 year old girl. But I'm not saying it will only appeal to 12 year old girls, or older women who still have an inner 12 year old, as I went to see this with a man in his late 30's who also enjoyed the film immensely. It is obvious what will happen in the movie from the outset but I didn't feel as though this detracted from the enjoyment of watching it all unfurl and getting to know these characters in the process.
Chalet Girl is a feel good film, it's not too taxing, it doesn't really make you think, but it is well acted, bringing a warmth to the characters which wouldn't have necessarily been there on paper. 7.5 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 12th February 2011
UK Release Date - 16th March 2011
Cast Overview:
Kim ~ Felicity Jones
Jonny ~ Ed Westwick
Richard (Jonny's Father) ~ Bill Nighy
Caroline (Jonny's Mother) ~ Brooke Shields
Chloe ~ Sophia Bush
Nigel ~ Nicholas Braun
Georgie ~ Tamsin Egerton
Jules ~ Georgia King
Bill (Kim's Father ~ Bill Bailey
Mikki ~ Ken Duken
Willy ~ Adam Bousdoukos
Director ~ Phil Traill
Writer ~ Tom Williams
Director ~ Phil Traill
Writer ~ Tom Williams
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