Greatest Days

Product Information

Principal photography took place in Clitheroe, Lancashire in April 2022 before moving to Athens. [3] Reception [ edit ]

Greatest Days follows 16-year old Rachel and her gang of four best friends from Clitheroe, Lancashire — Debbie, Claire, Zoe and Heather — who become firm friends through their shared love of a boyband they watch religiously on Top Of The Pops every week. Ultimately, Greatest Days is surprisingly brilliant and disarmingly honest. It manages to say something meaningful about friendships, growing up and grief without ever forgetting to smile through the pain. You might find you have something in your eye during the last 20 minutes, but you don’t need to be a Take That fanatic to enjoy this joyous musical. The end of the trailer for Greatest Days has confirmed exactly which of Take That's most iconic songs will be included in the summer movie.

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Former Bake Off host Mel Giedroyc’s sister Coky Giedroyc has directed the film, with Take That executive producing alongside David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers. Alice Lowe and Eliza Dobson play older and younger versions of Heather, Amaka Okafor and Nandi Sawyers-Hudson play Zoe, Jayde Adams and Carragon Guest play Claire, and Jessie Mae Alonzo plays Debbie.

Take That's musical 'Greatest Days' will be released across cinemas in the UK and Ireland on Friday, June 16.In the present day, 25 years on, the friends reunite for one more epic show by their beloved band and discover their lives have all changed in many different ways. Can they relight their friendship after all these years? Rounded out by a brilliant ensemble cast that includes Amaka Okafor (as Zoe), Jayde Adams (Claire) and Alice Lowe (Heather), the narrative switches between the past and the present with interludes of song and dance that not only help move the story along but offer a depth to the emotions and bonds these friends all share. It’s about friendship and the power of the songs they loved. The band and the bits are secondary; it’s about the fans who loved them."

It puts a mirror on our audience – it’s a celebration of our music but it’s literally all about the fans and their friendships. Greatest Days is the jukebox musical movie that follows five young best friends who have the night of their lives seeing their favourite boyband in concert in the 1990s. The movie's biggest strength is not making it about Take That and focusing on a specific shared experience. Everybody has had that group of friends you were super close to in your youth, mutually obsessed over one thing whether it's a band, TV show or whatever, only to drift apart over the years because life gets in the way. For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. The film then brings viewers up to the present day as we meet older versions of the girls. Aisling Bea is cast as Rachel, who is now a paediatric nurse in her 40s. She enters and wins a radio competition to see a reunion tour of The Boys in Athens, which offers a chance to reconnect with her old friends, so she invites them along too. Particularly affected by the grief from their past, she plays her role with a serious and empathetic touch that is far from the comedic tone she is known for. Her younger version is played by Lara McDonnell, who not only also manages the seriousness of that loss, but also authentically coveys the part of a distressed teenager living with a violent and dysfunctional family, who seeks solace in the boy band’s music.

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Speaking about the film,Take That said: “ Greatest Days is a film dedicated to all those who have supported us throughout the years. A jukebox musical featuring the works of Take That might not ever be one for the cool kids; undoubtedly this is a bit broad, but it’s a splurge of feelgood from director Coky Giedroyc and screenwriter Tim Firth, adapting his own stage show, and it’s at least as enjoyable as the much-hyped Mamma Mia! movies. While Greatest Days doesn’t exactly break any new ground, it investigates its theme thoroughly. Tim Firth’s script withholds a specific detail about the girls’ past, but it’s not too difficult to guess exactly what happened. This makes Greatest Days feel slightly awkward and this specific plot grievance becomes the elephant in the room. The adult performers are very nearly, and in some scenes completely, upstaged by their teenage counterparts. Jessie Mae Alonzo is particularly mesmerising and Lara McDonnell as young Rachel is the spitting image of Bea.

If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month. Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? This fumbled reveal aside, the movie doesn't do much wrong in its approach. It's clearly aiming for big-hearted musical cheese, but its theatricality is rooted in genuine emotion so that it earns its emotions rather than feeling manipulative.Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald will executive produce the film, just as they did for The Band. Robbie Williams and Mark Owen reunite as they sit in Robbie's kids' high chairs: 'Babies of the band!' Like the stage production, the movie follows four schoolgirls who had their lives changed at a concert by their favourite boyband, and then reunite 25 years later to reminisce on their memories. But, also, a rediscovered joy as they suddenly explode into this new friendship," says its writer, Tim Firth, who also wrote the stage show upon which Greatest Days is based.