Fast Romance is both modern and timeless, a genuinely funny, upbeat, uplifting film that engages effortlessly without being overly sentimental. Its stars are ordinary, everyday people - not the airbrushed models who populate most Hollywood offerings - and every character is entirely believable, as are the situations in which they find themselves. Set in Glasgow, Fast Romance does the city proud, full of shots depicting the architecture that helped earned us the City of Culture title and making excellent use of notable local landmarks as backdrops and settings. With some of Scotland's finest actors (Dave Anderson, Barbara Rafferty, Juliet Cadzow, Alison Peebles) and a host of talented newcomers, Fast Romance absolutely deserves to be seen on a grand scale - it is one of THE warmest, endlessly watchable romantic comedies, and it can stand proudly beside such Scottish classics as Gregory's Girl, Orphans, and Trainspotting.
Fast Romance is acutely aware of its heritage, and the film is peppered with references to films that have gone before it - from the opening homage to The Wicker Man, to the cameo of Rab Buchanan (from Gregory's Girl), and the sly nods to Restless Natives and Trainspotting - the film also benefited from an Art Director with a terrific eye for background detail, meaning that it will stand up to repeated viewings to catch all the things you missed first time round.
This is a film of which its makers can be justly proud, but more than that, it is a film that all Scotland can be proud of - it shows a side of our country not often depicted on screen, and illustrates a beautifully-written/acted/directed/shot/edited script of a calibre rarely seen. The fact that this was achieved on such a budget is a remarkable achievement, one which should inspire countless new filmmakers to find their own ways and forge their own paths, now the proof exists that it can be done, and done well. Without shadow of a doubt, I would recommend this film to everyone I know, bar none. People deserve to see this film. My only regret is that, having seen it once, I have a long time to wait until I have the chance to see it again - if I could have, I'd have watched it again the very next day. It's that good.
