🔗 Share this article

This lively UK family movie features five different writers credited with the script, with a pair who provided “additional material”. This might clarify why the story beats progress with clockwork accuracy, while the personalities feel as if they were developed hydroponically in a lab. Paradoxically, the backdrop is a family-run farm where agronomist-owner Dinah decides to go organic motivated by her gifted niece Charlie, who feels plants’ emotions through touch.

A Growing Bond and a Prize Pumpkin

Having only recently met, for motives the otherwise polished script fails to explain, Dinah and Charlie get to know each other across a few seasons – which aligns with the duration needed to cultivate a pumpkin for the annual village competition. Charlie aims to utilize the award cash to find her mother, rumored to have left for pursue stardom in the US.

The ensemble cast is filled with delightful humorous roles by veteran British actors.

Notable Cameos and Villainous Rivals

The maternal figure later emerges played by a familiar face, similar to Rosheuvel, comes from in popular series. Moreover, the lineup features a quirky horticulturist portrayed by Nick Frost, who offers advice on growing pumpkins to Dinah and Charlie. Meanwhile, Jane Horrocks and Tim McInnerny play the Smythe-Gherkins, the villainous upper-class neighbors set on winning the contest for glory alone as they lack need for the cash prize.

• Nick Frost excels in the role of a bohemian gardener.
• The foes add comedic tension as wealthy rivals.
• The youthful Dominic McLaughlin plays Charlie’s school friend Oliver.

Youthful Talent and Filmmaking Style

Though his Scottish accent seems somewhat out of place in this setting, his dry underplaying and comic timing are so skillful it’s no surprise he has been cast for a major role in an upcoming series. Filmmaker John McPhail maintains a buoyant comedy tone and doesn’t interfere with what is destined to serve as evening family fun for a specific seasonal period.