An algorithmic zero-to-hero narrative: Military Wives reviewed

Military Wives is a British comedy drama starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan. It is based on the true story of the service spouses who formed a choir (and were the subject of a BBC documentary series in 2011) and it’s wholly in the style of Calendar Girls, The Full Monty, Brassed off, Kinky Boots etc, but that’s OK as we love all those films. This does shamelessly play you — you’ll laugh; you’ll cry! You may even cry from four minutes in! Like I did! — but you’d be disappointed if it didn’t, just as you’d be disappointed if it didn’t end with Sister Sledge belting out ‘We Are Family’. Oh, God — is that a spoiler? Sorry.

Although the BBC series followed the real-life choir after they enlisted the help of choirmaster Gareth Malone, who may be our very own Benjamin Button — last time I checked he looked about 13 — he has been excised from the story here. I don’t know why (perhaps he is in nappies now and it would be too disturbing). Instead, this story, as written by Rosanne Flynn and Rachel Tunnard, and directed by Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty, fittingly), has sisters doing it for themselves.

This does everything you expect and nothing you don’t, but that’s OK, because that’s the way we like it

One is Kate, who is married to a brigadier. She is uptight and posh and all cashmere and pearls, as played by Sharon Horgan. I’m kidding you. That’s Scott Thomas. The Sharon Horgan character is Lisa who is chaotic and sarcastic and glugs back the wine. But their menfolk have just been deployed to Afghanistan and they must work together on the social committee that arranges activities to keep up the wives’ morale. Actually, Kate was meant to have handed over the reins to Lisa but she finds it impossible to let go.