STACK Magazine December Issue 122

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DECEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi
FEATURE
056
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BETWEEN APINT
AND AHOTPLACE
In 2008 whenWill McKenzie (Simon Bird) first walked
up to the gate of his new high school and was met with
greetings of “briefcase wanker”, we instantly developed a
special affection for him and his adorably pathetic mates.
The stars of The Inbetweeners 2 spoke to Zoë Radas.
W ill, Simon (JoeThomas), Neil (Blake
Harrison), and Jay (James Buckley) are
the heroes of The Inbetweeners 2 (which
follows The Inbetweeners Movie from 2011, and
the award-winning television series of 2008-2010),
and their new film has some cultural relevance to
us in Ozland: the four hapless lads decide to take a
trip Down Under and spend time primarily in Byron
Bay, which serves as a wonderful send-up of all the
white dreads, leather necklaces, fireside guitar
jams and competitive exploring that you’ll see
amongst the young travelling population who
congregate there.
As the boys sit together in the interview room
in Melbourne, pondering on whether a gap year
in Australia is as much a rite of passage to British
kids as a year in London is to Aussie kids, their
naturally matey rapport with one another shines
through. “For the average [British] kid I think
[Australia’s] really up there, because there’s no
language barrier,” says Bird. “There are obviously
a lot of kids that go off to South East Asia, South
America... but I think Australia is the right place
for the Inbetweeners to go, who are just normal
boys.”
The guys have been enjoying their time here
thoroughly, and are eager to share their favourite
bits. “I met a fruit bat!” exclaims Buckley. “He
was a lovely chap.” Buckley probably has the most
animalistic experience of the group within the film:
The opening sequence features an almost single-
take, fantasy montage of Jay’s boastful email to
the rest of the boys – he is already in Australia,
and convinces the others to join him for the Easter
holidays – in which he beds numerous women,
punches a vicious koala, wrestles a crocodile
on the beach, and DJs to a heaving crowd of
enamoured partygoers.
“We did it in about four takes, I think,” says
Buckley of the intensive scene. “It was the hardest
I’ve had to work, which is a shame, because I
would have got a proper job if I wanted to work for
a living. And I had to learn my lines, which I hate
doing. It was quite stressful. Hopefully people can
dig it and think it’s funny.”
“Dig it, baby, dig it,” Harrison mocks.
“What’s wrong with that? That’s a phrase they
use all the time,” counters Buckley.
“In the ‘70s, yeah,” Harrison chortles.
“These cats aren’t on the same level as me,”
Buckley leans forward to inform me.
One of the other standout scenes comes
towards the end of the film, in which the guys
find themselves stranded right in the heart of the
Outback. “It was quite exhilarating,” says Bird.
Thomas agrees: “The heat makes you think, like
– in between takes, or if they were setting up for
another shot – I could just shut my eyes now and
if I was here on my own I’d probably never open
them again,” he explains intently. “It was near a
town called Marree, which is in South Australia. It
has a population of 57.”
The isolation also had a strangely calming effect
as well, Thomas believes. “I think because of that
amazing community, we loved being there; we
loved staying in the pub and we kind of liked the
fact that our phones didn’t work and there was
no Internet, so we had to talk to each other and
socialise. It was a really warm, hospitable place,
and I think we would never have gone there if it
wasn’t for the film. We were so glad we got to go.”
My final question regards an early scene in the
film in which Neil bends over a pool table to take
a shot, and inadvertently exposes his plums. Did
the props man come out with an array of different
choices, all laying in a velvet case? “I wish it was
like that!” Harrison laughs heartily. “Unfortunately
the writers seem to have an incredibly specific idea
of what each character’s genitals look like. A bit
odd, but they do. So I wasn’t privy to any of that. It
was just a case of, ‘Here are your testicles, wear
them with pride,’ and that’s it. I would have picked
a more impressive piece if I got a choice.”
• The
Inbetweeners 2
is out Dec 3.
The writers seem to have
an incredibly specific idea
of what each character’s
genitals look like. A bit
odd, but they do.