The story seems familiar, like it has been lifted from your sister's Bunty: Make one girl nice from a poor background and who has a dream of being a top runner; make the other girl the current champ, who is rich and a total bitch. Oh, and have them like the same guy. And they're off.
Because of her limited means, Shania (Chrichlow) has no choice but to train on a weed-ridden track in crap runners – we're in Rocky punching frozen meat territory. Her 'Mickey' is Brian (Phillip Davis), the kindly local trainer who wears a cap and carries a Thermos. No high falutin' shenanigans here. She gets a shot at the big time when Tommy (Noel Clarke, who also co-wrote the script) offers Shania a chance in the Great Britain Relay Team. It's here that she comes up against rich bitch Lisa (Lily James), whose daddy (Graves), a former champ, dictates who is on the team and who isn't and he doesn't take kindly to his new upstart challenging his daughter. Shania walks a thin line but when she falls for Lisa's 'fella' physio Carl (Bradley James) all-out war is declared.
It's more Hollyoaks (or Bunty) than Chariots Of Fire but despite the inevitability of it all – the underdog comes up trumps, friends become enemies, etc - Fast Girls (surely a better title could have been dreamed up in this dirty-minded days) has a certain charm. The girls – supporting Chrichlow and James are the mothering Lorraine Burroughs and the spritely party girl Lashana Lynch – form a tidy band who try hard to flesh out their characters more than Fast One, Mature One, Cheeky One, New One, etc. They're fun. The racing scenes aren't bad, inciting some excitement, but we could have done without the incessant banging tunes.
Fast Girls eventually falls victim to its obvious budget problems when the world finals look like they are taking place in Barnsley – no offence to the good people of Barnsley. Physios the world over might be offended with the sexualisation of their profession, as Shania and Carl like their rub down all too much. But this slim drama has no pretensions and its quick pace gives the proceedings some energy.
