Harry Papadopoulos (Stephen Dillane) is a self-satisfied, self-made man who has risen to the luxurious heights of the nouveau riche. He wants his son (Frank Dillane) to be a lawyer and scorns the boy’s ambitions to become a botanist (a vocation that’s certainly a bit more original than the usual musician/actor/artist cliché). But when the financial crisis hits Harry’s empire hard, the newly skint family must move in with wacky Uncle Spiros (Georges Corraface) and help him run his London chip shop. Hugging and learning ensues.
It’s a decent if unambitious premise and the film is crisply shot. But despite a degree of originality and some nicely judged performances, the overall journey and life lessons are predictable. The lines where Harry spells out his epiphany are among the script’s most cringeworthy moments: ‘Success is the joy you feel’ is pure self-help drivel. This is the type of London-set, small-scale filmmaking that you want to get behind and champion – if only it were a little bit more surprising.