Starter for 10

Starter for 10 (2006) is a British coming-of-age comedy you can watch online on iFILM. The year is 1985. Brian Jackson, a working-class kid from seaside Essex, heads off to the University of Bristol and lands a spot on the quiz team for University Challenge, the TV show he grew up worshipping. Knowledge, ambition and first love all hit him at once.

James McAvoy leads a cast stuffed with soon-to-be-famous faces: Benedict Cumberbatch as the pompous team captain, plus James Corden and Dominic Cooper. Brian gets torn between two women — dazzling, careless Alice (Alice Eve), who he wants against his better judgment, and sharp, down-to-earth Rebecca (Rebecca Hall). Somewhere between humiliating himself on live television and falling out with his old mates, he learns a few things the hard way.

Adapted by David Nicholls from his own novel, years before One Day made him a household name, the film is warm, awkward and easy to like. It's smart about how being clever does nothing to protect you from being young and foolish. A lovely pick if you enjoy British comedies with an eighties soundtrack. Stream Starter for 10 (2006) online on iFILM.