A sleepy town in the East of England. Juvenile delinquent Jayce (Ethaniel Davy) is released for a crime he didn’t commit. As Jayce seeks answers, he inadvertently gets involved in a cannabis-selling scheme with his antisocial senior citizen neighbor Kev (Graham Fellows).
Adorably silly stoner comedy is also a wholesome coming-of-age story. Judging by its synopsis alone, Chicken Town comes off as a stoner adventure in small-town Britain. That’s indeed true with director Richard Bracewell and his co-writer Patrick Dalton injecting snigger-worthy scenarios like an awkward cannabis deal at a breakfast diner, complete with old man Kev impersonating Dirty Harry to look tough as a first-time drug dealer. There’s also the age-old stoner joke in between with a teen asking Kev “how high” he is, only for him to reply “5 foot eleven”. But despite these usual tropes, Chicken Town breathes new life into its comedy subgenre, thanks to a committed performance by Ethaniel Davy as Jayce. While Graham Fellows has a natural comedic charm to him whenever he’s stoned (or not stoned), it’s this upcoming actor who adds more heart to the story. His protagonist Jayce might be a boy of few words, but he means business, whether it be seeking justice or just selling greens. By the end of it all, you can’t help but root for his journey beyond his small-town shenanigans. Without Davy bringing some serious cadence to the role, Bracewell and Dalton’s screenplay could’ve just ended up being a set of oddball sketches.
The low-stakes drama complements the low-budget production. Punny jokes are strewn throughout Chicken Town. And while most of them thankfully stick the landing, what sticks it altogether is low-stakes drama that feels grounded and fresh. Given its colorful characters like conspiracy theorist mechanics and cannabis-dealing grandpas, Chicken Town has the strange feel of a Wes Anderson comedy or a Coen Brothers crime caper. Still, it doesn’t fall into derivative territory as the shoestring budget and small-town setting lead to a sweet little conclusion. The end product doesn’t even feel underwhelming because Bracewell never promises any car explosions or Mexican standoffs (no matter how tailor-made his characters are for such scenarios). After all, this is a movie where even blazing dumpsters and car crashes are hinted at and not explicitly shown. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing at all, as the crew finds cheekily cost-cutting methods to pull it all off with great effect. Watch it with a mate (or your grandpa).
Stoner coming-of-age dramedy is filled with hilarious scenarios and colorful characters.
Watch Chicken Town in select UK theaters now