Review: “Swede Caroline” Is An Affectionate & Funny British Mockumentary

Jo Hartley triumphs in the lead role as a giant vegetable grower on the hunt for her stolen marrows in the hilarious British comedy Swede Caroline. Known for supporting roles in the works of Shane Meadows such as This is England and Dead Man’s Shoes as well as Ricky Gervais’ David Brent: Life on the Road and crowd-pleasing hit Eddie the Eagle, the Oldham-born actor gets the chance to shine in Finn Bruce and Brook Driver’s charming mockumentary.

She’s Caroline, title holder of the world’s heaviest onion, who has set her sights on becoming the first woman to win “Biggest Marrow” at The Big Vegetable Championships at Shepton Mallet (the Glastonbury for giant veg growers). Previously honoured in 2016 for her girthy leek, she’s now odds-on to win in 2017 for her affectionately named marrow, Gary.

But Caroline’s seemingly unstoppable pursuit of the title is scuppered when the judges disqualify her after Gary is found to have a “hairline fissure” in its skin. The year that would go down in infamy among this unconventional community of horticulturists as “marrowgate”. Undeterred, she’s determined to return next year for another shot at the title. However, after her prized plants (“the children of Gary”) are stolen from her garden, Caroline, along with friends, the conspiracy junkie Paul (Richard Lumsden) and sweet-natured man-child Willy (Celyn Jones), set out to find out who is scheming to thwart this giant veg grower’s dream.

Bruce and Driver, directing from the latter’s screenplay, find entertaining mystery thrills for our amateur sleuths. It makes for some comical set-pieces that rarely feel manufactured thanks to the performances of Hartley and co. Caroline has a wonderful aloofness that makes her sardonic asides and pithy observations so funny. At times I was reminded of Harry Shearer in This is Spinal Tap. Together with Paul’s over-caffeinated paranoia and Willy’s infantile spontaneity, the trio make a winning combination of eccentricities.

Yet, it isn’t all pratfalls and silliness. With its documentary format, Swede Caroline possesses moments of tragicomedy perfected by the likes of Ricky Gervais in The Office, Derek, and Life’s Too Short. There is surprising affection to be found, particularly between Caroline and Willy, that adds an unexpected tenderness to proceedings.

Swede Caroline is, at times, a mockumentary comedy as hilarious as the best of Christopher Guest. An instinctively amusing portrait of British giant vegetable growers that boasts an assortment of oddball characters who, with their comical idiosyncrasies, immerse us in a sub-culture where ruthless competitiveness transforms the quaint English countryside into a war zone fought with trowels and secateurs.