The Festival is a 2018 British comedy film from Iain Morris, the co-creator of The Inbetweeners. It stars Joe Thomas (who previously played Simon from The Inbetweeners), Hammed Animashaun and Claudia O'Doherty as protagonists Nick, Shane and Amy.
Nick and Shane have just finished university and have decided to start the newest chapter of their lives by spending the next weekend at the Giant Music Festival. To Shane's angst, his girlfriend Caitlin dumps him right before the ceremony. Along the way, the two meet up with Australian backpacker Amy.Nick finds out that Caitlin and his other friends from university are at the same festival and spends his time trying to win back his ex. Shane meanwhile is hoping to meet his idol DJ Hammerhead and show him his music. Amy meanwhile just wants to have fun and find a rock that looks like Mark Ruffalo.
The Festival is very much a Spiritual Successor to The Inbetweeners, basically acting as a hypothetical third movie in the franchise.
Tropes
- Bestiality Is Depraved: Shane and Amy witness a man bumming a goat as part of a Druid ritual. Even he seems ashamed of what he did the next day.
- Black Comedy Rape: Shane and Amy come across a Druid wedding ceremony, in which they find out the bride is actually a goat...whom the groom deflowers right in front of them.
- The Cameo: Nick Frost appears in one scene as a tattoo artist. Hammerhead is played by Noel Fielding.
- Did Not Get the Girl: Caitlin never reconsiders getting back with Nick. In fact, things between them get even worse by the end of the film. Nick has a one night stand with a girl dressed like Smurfette, but she doesn't want to be his girlfriend either.
- Facial Horror: Hammerhead after eating a homemade energy bar filled with crab meat, which he is allergic to.
- Genki Girl: Amy can befriend pretty much anybody and never stops talking.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: The Smurf girl that Nick runs into. She offers him a pill and they have a wild night of partying, which culminates in sex. When Nick wakes up, he decides to pursue her so he can recapture that feeling. Subverted when the Smurf girl shoots him down, though it's hinted that Nick has a chance with a girl dressed like an elf on the train ride home.
- Protagonist-Centered Morality: While the trio are a well-meaning bunch, they do cause a lot of trouble over the weekend such as theft, disrupting a show, vandalising a car and indecent exposure.
- Villainy-Free Villain: Nick's old friends from university and their new add-on "Pirate" are meant to be the antagonists, yet apart from acting snobbish towards the main trio they don't do anything particularly bad. Compare that the to protagonists, who end the movie being chased by cops and security guards.
- You Can Leave Your Hat On: Nick and Shane are pressured into doing a striptease for a hen's party. Since they went full Monty out in the open, they're promptly arrested for indecent exposure.
