THE INBETWEENERS QA&
Sean Welsh speaks to the writers of The Inbetweeners, Damon Beesley and Iain Morris
How much of The Inbetweeners is autobiographical? Damon Beesley: Quite a lot of it comes from direct and indirect experiences Iain and I have had, or friends of ours – associates, let’s call them – have had over the years.
Do you think it’s representative of young people? Iain Morris: All we ever tried to do with the series is to make something that people engaged with and laughed at. The only other thing we tried to do is to try to be honest to what the experience of being a teenager’s like, so, I suppose, exams are hard and are annoying and when you get your heart broken by a girl, it does hurt, a lot more than people standing back think. And also, you’re not necessarily in the best place to articulate that. You don’t often sit around your bedroom, writing poetry – you just sort of have to get on with it and accept your mates might take the piss, but at least your friends are there. And I think that kind of honesty about how teenagers deal with emotional issues is probably one thing we have tried to do and that’s probably because we are still, emotionally, teenagers at heart!
How does it feel to end it? Damon Beesley: When we watched a cut of the film and we got to the end and we played the final credits, we stuck on the theme tune. We hadn’t heard that for quite some time and we were listening to it for the first time on literally the last day of the edit and as the lights came up in the edit suite, me, Iain and our executive producer all had a little tear rolling down our cheeks.
TONI BENEDETTI 19, SPRINGBOIG, GLASGOW
I don’t know boys exactly like them in real life because I think they are extreme versions, but it would be easy to watch the characters and see parts which remind you of people you know. The funniest moments are usually where I think, ‘God, that’s like my brother’. He’s going to be 18 in a few months but I still don’t really like to think of him doing things like that . . . Right now, I’m working at the airport but I’m really into music and come to the same youth group at Platform with these guys. I also sing in a band with some friends outside of that – rock stuff, influenced by bands like Papa Roach. We have done some gigging but most places are pretty tough with ID-ing and don’t
let underage bands play. I think that films are better because following a series is too much hard work for people our age who are out a lot or working loads. Movies are a better option for me, and give you the chance to do it with friends in a way you can’t with telly. It’s harder to watch a series with your pals than a film. I watched Skins for a bit but then kind of went off it. Other than that, I like Misfits, as it’s really funny. The humour in that is a lot less cringe- worthy than The Inbetweeners, which I think is definitely one that you should go see with a big squad of people. Or definitely one to see on a date, as there would be loads to talk about after so you wouldn’t be stuck for chat. I don’t like that kind of humour if I’m watching it on my own but if I’m with somebody and we can find a grossed-out common ground, then that’s fine.
The Inbetweeners Movie, general release from17 Aug. 92 THE LIST 18–25 Aug 2011