Can’t listen to ‘She’s So Lovely’ without picturing a giant papier mâché stuffed olive? Are the lyrics to ‘Ultraviolet’ performed by teen heartthrob-turned-Hollywood star Aaron Taylor-Johnson still somewhere in the back of your subconscious? This is sure to be the result of the 2008 teen movie aptly titled Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging, adapted from the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson book series written by Louise Rennison.
Directed by Gurinda Chadha following the success of Bend It Like Beckham, the flick has now turned 15 years old, roughly the age of our protagonist – Georgia, a funny yet insecure and desperate to be mature teenage girl – who develops a crush on the new boy at school, bass playing “sex God” Robbie. With the help of her friends, dubbed “The Ace Gang”, she sets out to make him her boyfriend whilst battling the world-ending obstacles of embarrassing parents, snogging lessons, fake tan mishaps and Robbie’s rude, older girlfriend – whilst also scheming her way into having her 15th birthday party at a nightclub. The movie was released right after I turned five years old and I remember watching it sometime soon afterwards on Film4 with my older sister, allowed to stay up past my bedtime to see how the drama came to a close – with frequent rewatches as I got older I came to relate more and more to these characters, whilst taking an appreciation to the soundtrack which would act as the stepping stones to the music taste I have to this day.
Released at the height of what may now be referred to as ‘indie sleaze’, the soundtrack for ‘Angus, Thongs’ appropriately features a range of indie artists and covers – most notably Stiff Dylans, a real band comprised of members who auditioned to create the pop-rock group for the movie (but subsequently disappeared after plans to release an album reportedly fell through). The use of music within the film truly captures a specific moment in time – both the year of 2008 that was hit with a second wave of Britpop, and the vulnerable moments of early adolescence.
Many of the standout moments in the movie make great use of the soundtrack, which has made some of the singles synonymous with scenes from the movie – the film opens with Scouting for Girls’ ‘She’s So Lovely’ as Georgia runs through the streets of Eastbourne in an elaborate stuffed olive costume she made herself for a costume party (her friends opted out of the planned hors d’oeuvres theme because “boys don’t like girls for funniness”). Georgia and her friends partake in some “boy stalking time” as ‘Girls And Boys In Love’ plays over scenes of the group running around school and their seaside town, and after Georgia visits classmate Peter for “snogging lessons”, the instrumentals of Peter Bjorn and John’s ‘Young Folks’ plays out – these upbeat tracks in particular do a great job at capturing the short moments of bliss you feel as a tween, as well as the yearning you feel as a 14 year old just wishing to be 16, the naïve thinking of reaching that magical number will change your life and lacking the appreciation of still being a child.
The music consistently holds up throughout the entire movie, with later scenes including the optimistic single ‘In the Morning’ by The Coral playing over a montage scene of Georgia taking action to start acting more mature after facing rejection – meditating, eating healthier, and bleaching her hair. In one of the first romance scenes I had ever seen in a movie, Georgia and Robbie heart-warmingly reconcile as the acoustic track ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ plays while they lean in to kiss - but the section of Georgia’s bleached hair falls out. ‘Angus, Thongs’ ends with a scene of Georgia, finally happy and secure in herself, walking by the beach with Robbie, who is now her boyfriend, as the gentle track ‘Sugar Mouse’ by Oh, Atoms plays over the credits. Even with the music use, the overall plot may seem a little thin - but I think that’s what makes the film so perfect. Sometimes you are just a girl in your early teens with a crush and awkward insecurities - and that’s okay, as well as interesting! It’s a story that still deserves to be told no matter how unsensational.
Also featured in the soundtrack are a variety of covers – Lily Allen’s version of ‘Naïve’ subtly plays as Georgia watches her best friend get asked out by Robbie’s twin brother, and a rendition of ‘Teenage Kicks’ by Nouvelle Vague during a daydream sequence of Georgia and Robbie enjoying each other’s company. This leads to the last cover featured in the film – ‘Ever Fallen In Love’ performed by Stiff Dylans during a scene at one of their shows – the band was made up of four members (with songwriter and producer James Flannigan as the lead) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson stood in for the bass player when filming scenes. Stiff Dylans performed another song at the end of the film, in probably the best and most memorable scene, called ‘Ultraviolet’ written by Robbie for Georgia which they perform at her party – the single is a pop-rock explosion with catchy lyrics that would make any teenager watching the film upon release swoon, and it has been streamed over 17 million times since its release. Like most other girls in their early teenage years, this film was my first introduction to Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
There are endless amounts of songs to appreciate from the movie’s soundtrack, especially the ones used diegetically – Georgia and her friend Ellen listen to Mumm-Ra’s ‘She’s Got You High’ as they get ready for a sweet sixteen party where they then dance to the newly released ‘Dance Wiv Me’. ‘I Found Out’ by The Pigeon Detectives blares as Georgia shows up to a Stiff Dylan’s gig with Robbie’s best friend in order to make him jealous, gently transitioning to playing inside the venue. ‘Pull Shapes’ and ‘Great DJ’ play at Georgia’s club party – even the ‘Infinity on High’ Fall Out Boy poster hung in Peter’s bedroom deserves acknowledgement – in retrospect you can see the care that went into sourcing each track that not only seem timeless when rewatching 15 years later, but also accurate to an early teenager’s music taste in the late noughties.
Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging simultaneously represents everything great about the late noughties, whilst also seeming timeless in its own right – that could be down to the thought put behind the music selected for the movie, or the realistic portrayals of being an unremarkable teenager in the UK (despite the second hand embarrassment it may give you). It is definitely a must for every teenage girl to see, and the soundtrack is worth a listen to rediscover some classic indie songs you forgot you knew the lyrics to.
