This perky British kids’ movie lists five different people in the writing credits (two of whom chipped in with “additional material”); this may explain in part why its story beats arrive with such metronomic precision, and the characters feel as if they were grown hydroponically in a lab. Which is of course ironic because the setting is a family-run farm where agronomist-owner Dinah (Golda Rosheuvel) decides to go organic after being inspired by her magical niece Charlie (Priya-Rose Brookwell, adorable) who can sense plants’ emotions by touch.
Having only been recently introduced, for reasons the otherwise overpolished script fails to explain, Charlie and Dinah get to know each other over the course of a few seasons – which just so happens to be the length of time it takes to grow a pumpkin for the annual village competition. Charlie hopes to use the prize money to find her mother, rumoured to have run off to become a movie star in California.
The latter eventually turns out to be Kathryn Drysdale who, like Rosheuvel, is a Bridgerton alumnus (Drysdale also did a wicked Meghan Markle impersonation in The Windsors). Indeed, the supporting cast is otherwise stuffed like a well-hydrated gourd with charming comic turns by veteran Brit actors, including Nick Frost as a hippy horticulturist who offers Dinah and Charlie pumpkin-growing advice, and Jane Horrocks and Tim McInnerny as the Smythe-Gherkins, evil local toffs who are determined to win the prize for the glory alone because they don’t need the money.
Meanwhile, young Dominic McLaughlin plays Charlie’s school friend Oliver and while his Scottish accent seems a bit random in this setting, his dry underplaying and comic timing are so skilful it’s no surprise to learn he has been cast in the role of Harry Potter in the upcoming TV show. Director John McPhail keeps the comedy buoyant and doesn’t get in the way of what’s destined to be serviceable pre-bedtime entertainment for a very specific time of year.
• Grow is on Sky Cinema from 10 October. It is showing in UK cinemas from 25 October and in Australian cinemas from 15 January.
