Aidan Goatley: 10 Films With My Dad Review 2011

What a great idea for a show. Aidan Goatley promises to explore a lifetime of miscommunication with his dad by examining the films they watched together, while deconstructing a few classic movies.

Sadly the show doesn't deliver on its promise although it does serve up an entertaining hour of anecdotes and nostalgia. The movies are nicely selected, with some scenes re-enacted by his mates and a dog dressed as a shark. These clips suffer from the same problem as the rest of the show: they're slightly too slick. An odd criticism perhaps, but this show hinges on Goatley's vulnerability and that sometimes doesn't shine through when the show feels over-prepared.

Goatley, a former screenwriter, certainly knows his movies and is highly enjoyable when picking apart classics like Die Hard and Escape To Victory, although these are more for the entertainment of cinephiles than a real examination of his relationship with his dad. The last two films - Avatar and The Blues Brothers - lead to the most touching revelations about his father, with a tear-jerking closing anecdote.

Not quite straight-to-video, but still a long way off the Oscars.