It's a random (and rather odd) thought, but one of the first thing that struck me as I was watching the new British comedy Starter for 10 was that I didn't give The Cure a fair shake as a kid. For some reason they never really did it for me, the majority of their songs not ones I found I wanted to sit and listen to in my dorm room. I was (still am) a Tori Amos, Tom Petty, The Sundays, Pearl Jam, Sarah McLachlan, Belinda Carlisle and Pat Benatar sort of girl, and for all their college radio popularity Robert Smith and his cronies failed to ever win me over.

The only reason I mention this is that after watching this collegiate coming of age opus I think I need to give them a second chance. The five songs on the soundtrack here, to my astonishment, spoke to me in a passionately heartfelt way, many of the lyrics in "Love Song," "Pictures of You" and "Boys Don't Cry" more profound and moving then I ever came them credit for in the past.

Which, strangely, is exactly how I feel about Starter for 10 the motion picture, too. At first glance, this adaptation of David Nicholls' well-regarded best seller (with a screenplay by the author) looks like a Pretty in Pink or The Breakfast Club retread sporting a foreign accent. Cute on the surface, maybe even fun here and there, but as a whole no great shakes worthy of a second look or a lengthy discussion.

The thing is, the longer the film goes on and the more mistakes endearing working class main character Brian Jackson (a fantastic and charming James McAvoy, The Last King of Scotland) makes I couldn’t help but see varying parts of myself and my friends bubbling within him. I knew this kid, could feel what made him tick. By the time the freshman figured out what it was he wanted I just as clearly knew I had fallen in love with him, and like the words and music behind Smith's songs Nicholls' script had suddenly won me over with a heady combination of smarts, laughs, tears and inspiration.

Not that I was ever at a loss to know what was going on. Jackson may be from the wrong side of the tracks but he's still an honest soul who only wants to gain an education and pick up a few life experiences. With that in mind, figuring out if the kid is going to end up with perky, nice (if a bit shallow) and beautiful rich girl Alice (Alice Eve, Stage Beauty) or plain, down-to-earth (if a bit stubborn) and sometimes outspoken Rebecca (Rebecca Tate, The Prestige) isn’t exactly difficult.

There's more going on than just this, of course, not the least of which being Jackson's almost obsessive desire to be a contestant on popular 1980's game show University Challenge, but none of it so complicated a person couldn’t run to the bathroom halfway through and return to theater not having missed a thing. As pleasurable as the film is we're not exactly talking brain surgery, and for those wanting something a bit more complicated I suggest looking someplace else.

Please don’t take any of that as a negative. There is a spunky, universal charm to all of this that’s supremely satisfying, Nicholls and director Tom Vaughan (making his debut) crafting a story set in Thatcher's England that’s somehow universally appealing no matter what a person’s generation. There is a depth and a poignancy to the story that’s wonderfully touching, an appeal to it all crossing gender lines and oceanic barriers as simply as a wisp of pollen blowing on the wind.

"People that care about you don’t care if you make mistakes," states Jackson's mother, "It's what you do next that matters." Words like that are what this story is all about. Like life, the film understands bad things happen, many of which are due to our own bad or misdirected decisions. But it is what happens next that matters, the way we rebound from debacle the thing revealing our true character, and it is on that front Starter for 10 scores a deeper look and, much like The Cure's music, is probably worth revisiting again.