Chuck Chuck Baby
Written and directed by Janis Pugh
Starring Louise Brealey, Annabel Scholey, Sorcha Cusack, Celyn Jones
Runtime: 101 minutes
Available on digital August 27

by Kate Beach, Staff Writer

A dandelion puff bobs and floats through a working class neighborhood of northern Wales, landing delicately in the hands of Helen (Louise Brealey), still lying in bed. The mildly fantastical opening sets the tone for Chuck Chuck Baby, suggesting realism laced with the occasional burst of whimsy. Janis Pugh’s feature debut is the kind of slight, charming dramedy that regularly came out of the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 90s and 00s, depicting life in a quirky rural village or industrial town.

Helen (Louise Brealey) lives a quiet, unfulfilling life in the small town she’s seemingly never left. Her night job at the local chicken plant is only slightly less depressing than her home life; she still lives with her ex-husband, Gary (Celyn Jones), caring for his dying mother while he spends his time with his girlfriend (Emily Fairn and a massive pair of caterpillar eyebrows) and their new baby. To add insult to injury, Helen is relegated to living out of a suitcase in a little pink bedroom that serves as a reminder of the children she was unable to have with Gary. His mother, Gwen (Sorcha Cusack), is the only person in the house who shows Helen compassion and love. She gets through the days supported by Gwen and her coworkers, and by singing her favorite songs at the top of her lungs as needed. The music in Chuck Chuck Baby is diegetic, with the cast belting out Neil Diamond and Janis Ian songs in the car or on the chicken plant floor. It adds to the film’s fuzzy mix of kitchen sink realism and just a little bit of heightened reality. It also helps tease out the characters where the script doesn’t. Helen sobbing in her car to “I Am…I Said” can say more about her character than a monologue’s worth of exposition.

The return of Joanne (Annabel Scholey) smashes the monotony of Helen’s days. Though they were neighbors and schoolmates, Helen reveals that they never actually spoke to one another. Still, Helen harbored a crush, one that makes the prospect of seeing Joanne and perhaps befriending her seem terrifying. Brealey does a lovely job in these scenes portraying the emotions churning beneath the surface of Helen’s stoic exterior. She’s embarrassed, afraid her childhood crush will not just be remembered, but seen as something strange and wrong. She can’t possibly conceive that Joanne might have reciprocated her feelings.

Initially afraid to revisit her old crush on Joanne and ashamed of her current life, Helen slowly starts to open up and consider that the world may have more to offer her than she thought. Joanne doesn’t just represent escape for Helen, which would be intoxicating enough. It’s Joanne’s ability to return to their dead end town, angry and open and wholly herself, that Helen finds both intimidating and inspiring. The two strike up a new flirtation that is quickly threatened by past abuse and the close minded attitudes of some of their neighbors. It’s easy to see where the story is going, with a few pleasant surprises along the way, mostly in the performances and in some of Pugh’s delightfully bold shots. Pops of color break up the dull grey of Helen and Joanne’s small industrial town, seen in a bright umbrella or the purple glow of a TV through a living room window.

Chuck Chuck Baby offers just enough offbeat humor and energetic musical numbers to keep things moving, but it’s still a bit of a struggle to justify its 101 minute runtime. Reaching the third act, scenes start to feel draggy and repetitive, and even the charm of the music starts to wear off. But Brealey and Scholey both give rich, nuanced performances and have convincingly sparkling chemistry, which makes them able to sell the romance at the center of the story despite some clunky dialogue and a lack of deep character development. They’re rounded out by a solid supporting cast, particularly Cusack as Helen’s sweet, compassionate ex-mother-in-law.

While it eventually loses steam, Chuck Chuck Baby is clever and creative, and still feels worthwhile. It’s a sweet, gentle queering of British family dramas that invites its audience to jump in and sing along.