London Town

If you're a fan of British music-themed dramas, London Town is right up your alley.

The story of the Clash is a fascinating one, and spotlighting a kid inspired by, but not a part of, the punk milieu has plenty of potential. But "London Town" just never burns brightly enough.

As contrived as "London Town" is - with a derivative coming-of-age story and improbable, fateful encounters between a struggling teen and Clash frontman Joe Strummer - there is something here of the group's early, principled spirit.

The movie's impersonal, conventional telling of a reasonably standard male coming-of-age story almost tends to make the punk milieu it depicts beside the point.

The raw vigor and protest of punk get co-opted by the movie's coming-of-age story; it's not the heartfelt sweetness that's the chief problem, but how run-of-the-mill and derivative the plot is.

The era's skinhead riots and striking workers - and Strummer's biting, pro-immigrant lyrics - are never more than window dressing in a movie that would rather scatter fairy dust than grit.

Formulaic writing is lifted to a higher level by a talented ensemble plus real stand out performances from Huttlestone and Rhys Meyers - even if their scenes together are contrived.

For all its flaws, the film's underlying sweetness makes it hard to dislike. Good, too, to see punk icon Joe Strummer - played with bolshie vim by Jonathan Rhys Meyers - as the story's unexpected fairy godfather.

London Town is a mostly entertaining romp and its cute fantasy is what makes it work.

The plot synopsis suggests a rather mundane progression of events, and that's exactly what London Town delivers.