Do the words “nunga-nungas” mean anything to you? What about “snogging scale”? “Fabbity fab with knobs on”? For a generation coming of age in the mid-Noughties, this language crept into playground conversations and gossip sessions. It was all thanks to Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, Gurinder Chadha’s clunky yet beloved teen movie that perfectly captured the awkwardness and mundanity of adolescence. This was the film we flocked to cinemas to see, then dissected at sleepovers and quoted endlessly. Fifteen years later, many still revisit it, calling it their ultimate comfort movie.
Billed as a teenage response to Bridget Jones’s Diary, Angus… was adapted from the popular young adult book series by the late Louise Rennison, beginning with 1999’s Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging. The series follows Georgia Nicholson, a refreshingly relatable 14-year-old girl preoccupied with boys, periods, and the size of her nose. Even now, Rennison’s 10-book series, sharp and witty beyond their protagonist’s years, remains one of the few collections that can genuinely make me laugh out loud.
In the 2008 film, we meet Georgia, played by Georgia Groome, who faces challenges that adults might dismiss but feel monumental to a teenager. She yearns for the attention of the hottest boy in school, played by a young Aaron Taylor-Johnson, while her best friend Jas, portrayed by Eleanor Tomlinson, is vying for his brother. Georgia dreams of a spectacular 15th birthday bash and wishes her parents would stop embarrassing her—especially her mother’s flirtations with a handsome builder. These relatable struggles are set against the backdrop of a charming storyline that contrasts sharply with the darker, drug-laden narratives of the time.
What You Will Learn
- The cultural impact of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging on a generation.
- Insights from the film's cast and director about their experiences during production.
- The importance of authentic representation of teenage life in cinema.
- Reflections on how the film remains relevant and beloved years later.
