Off the Rails

Three middle-aged BFFs reunite at a funeral, only to be sent on a Blondie-soundtracked mission across Europe, in this British comedy drama that is more paint-by-numbers than punk rock. To fulfil the last request of their dead friend, writer Kate (Jenny Seagrove), doctor Liz (Sally Phillips) and actress Cassie (Kelly Preston in her final role) retread the steps of their youthful Interail journey, taking their friend's daughter (Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips) with them to see the lights at Palma Cathedral. Old fights and new dramas threaten their calamitous journey, but there's little depth or humour to be found in poor dialogue that's delivered by three leads who share little chemistry. Phillips does offer small moments of hilarity and an early Judi Dench cameo raises the bar. Unfortunately, though, Off the Rails never manages to rise above a script that does the bare minimum to get its characters from A to B. Top tunes, though.