The last time we watched ‘Notting Hill’ (and, indeed, the first time as we had not previously seen it) was in 2007. I vaguely remembered liking it, but nothing at all about the story. So we decided to watch it again last night.
Hugh Grant - rather a young looking Hugh Grant, as this was made in 1999, when he was under 40 - plays William Thacker, a bookshop owner in London. It’s a perfect role for him. William is quiet, likeable, and far too honest to make a good salesman. Indeed, his bookshop (which only sells travel books) is gradually going more and more into debt.
Into William’s shop one day walks the American film star Anna Scott (Julia Roberts). They converse briefly and she buys a book. He does not expect to see her again, but then manages to bump into her on his way back from collecting some drinks from a coffee shop. This sparks a tentative kind of friendship, with William becoming more and more incoherent and Anna intrigued, despite herself.
It’s a character-based film, a couple of hours long but well-paced and enjoyable throughout. William has a mixed bunch of friends, and a quirky young sister called Honey (Emma Chambers - basically playing the same kind of character as her Alice in ‘Vicar of Dibley’). His flat-mate is a rather coarse Welshman called Spike (Rhys Ifans) who provides an amusing contrast to William’s somewhat caricatured self-deprecating Englishman.
The film is a good study in culture clash, and characterisation in general. When William and his friends go around the table talking about who is the saddest, Anna - despite her fame and wealth - is able to point out that her life is no happier than theirs. There are different attitudes to publicity too, which come to a head in one scene which I did remember when it happened, as journalists and photographers converge to try to capture a new story.
There’s a nice blend of humour and poignancy in this film, and an ongoing tension as we wonder whether or not the two main character will get together. I honestly didn’t remember the outcome, but thought it extremely well done. Some of the characters are stereotyped, but others are entirely believable. I particularly liked William’s best friend Max (Tim McInnerny) and his disabled wife (Gina McKee).
The UK rating for ‘Notting Hill’ is 15, which seems a tad on the high side; the US, usually stricter, rates this as PG-13, which feels more appropriate to me. There is an inevitable bedroom scene but it’s tastefully done, with all the action offstage, and plenty of bed coverings afterwards. There are discussions of intimacies in varying forms, and one or two obscenities, but nothing that the average ten-year-old would not have heard already.
However, I can’t imagine it being of the slightest interest to anyone under the age of about fifteen anyway, so perhaps it’s immaterial. To see details, check the parents’ guide link in the imDb ‘Notting Hill’ guide.
Overall, I thought it a wonderful film. I felt uplifted and relaxed at the end. Definitely in the ‘feel-good’ category, and I hope not to leave it so long before watching it again.
Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews
It’s nearly twelve years since we watched the ITV adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel ‘Emma’ on DVD. I could remember being pleasantly surprised when we first saw it. ‘Emma’ is my least favourite of Austen’s classic books. I don’t much like Emma as a character, and it’s hard to enjoy a book when I dislike the main protagonist.
The film version, however, is excellent. Kate Beckinsale makes an extremely good Emma. She’s selfish and bossy, and wants to make ‘matches’ between various of her friends, whether they want them or not. She is a snob, too, befriending young Harriet Smith (Samantha Morton) in the hope of ‘matching’ her to the vicar: the smarmy Mr Elton (Dominic Rowan). Harriet is in love with a young farmer but Emma persuades her to look higher.
Things start to go wrong when Mr Elton makes it clear that he has no interest in Harriet at all, but thinks that Emma herself would make him a good wife. Emma has not seen the signals, and perhaps that’s the point at which she acknowledges she may not be always right in her matchmaking.
The scenery and photography are excellent, giving an authentic backdrop to what is otherwise purely a character-based series of dialogues, and (if Emma were less serious) something of a comedy of mismatches. Emma’s father (Bernard Hepton) is a querulous old man, who does not like change and doesn’t want anyone to be married. He would be amusing if he were not so caught up in his miseries. It’s not surprising, perhaps, that Emma has turned out to be as selfish as she is - and able to manipulate him too, when she wants to.
I had more-or-less remembered the storyline; I knew who ended up with whom, at any rate, so I was watching for hints - and they were there, albeit quite strongly hidden in some cases. Emma hits rock-bottom when she makes what she thinks is a joke at the expense of a kindly, if garrulous elderly neighbour. Thankfully her friend and mentor Mr Knightley (Mark Strong) tells her off strongly.
The only parts of the film that seemed out of place are the beginning and end, which feature some chickens being stolen. I don’t remember that from the book, although it’s a very long time since I read it.
It’s extremely rare for me to recommend a film above its related book, but for ‘Emma’, I would definitely recommend seeing this film - and then, perhaps, read the book afterwards to fill in some of the detail.
Other recommended adaptations of Jane Austen books include:
Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews
It had been over ten years since we watched the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel ‘Persuasion’. When we last saw it, I had read ‘Persuasion’ just a few years earlier, so was mostly familiar with the story. However I had not re-read it in the intervening years so had almost entirely forgotten the characters and the plot.
Not that there’s a great deal of plot, and very little action. As with most of Austen’s classics, this is a social satire, a character-based story where genuine love triumphs in the end. The main character is Anne Elliot, the quiet, likeable (and rather put upon) middle daughter of an impoverished upper class family. Amanda Root is excellent in this role.
Anne’s father is extravagant, snobbish and selfish. Her sister Elizabeth is similar. Debts force the family to move to Bath for a while, and rent out their huge stately home to a friend’s brother. Anne - whose feelings are rarely considered - has to visit her youngest sister Mary instead. Mary is married with two sons, but she is a hypochondriac, and as selfish as her father.
There are some mildly amusing and brief scenes where Mary, her husband Charles, and his likeable mother and sisters confide in Anne, all hoping she can do something to calm her nephews and persuade her sister to complain less…
Anne herself is nursing a broken heart; at nineteen she turned down an offer of marriage from someone with no prospects and no real background. It’s evident that she was persuaded to do this by well-meaning friends, but wishes she has followed her heart. And the young man, Edward Wentworth (Ciaron Hinds) comes back from the war, and reappears into her life….
I found some of the short scenes at sea a tad confusing. They were not part of the book, but then again, they show the background for a couple of the characters, contrasting their courage and integrity with the selfish Mr Elliot. For modern viewers, particularly those unfamiliar with the novel and perhaps unaware of the history of the era, they add some realism.
‘Persuasion’ is inevitably a bit slow-moving in storyline; it doesn’t have the gorgeous scenery of the adaptations of some of Austen’s other books, but the settings nonetheless seemed authentic. The acting is excellent, and on the whole we enjoyed it.
Other recommended adaptations of Jane Austen books include:
Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews
From time to time Amazon recommends films to me, based on what I have previously liked or bought. One such recommendation was ‘The Wilde Wedding’. I assume that’s because this is in the ‘rom-com’ genre and I have enjoyed several films of this kind.
It starts well. The teenage Mackenzie (Grace van Patten) is narrating, and also filming events as her somewhat dysfunctional family members start to arrive for the weekend. She has a good style of delivery, and sets the scene well. She informs us that her grandmother is getting married again, but that she’s absolutely not allowed to refer to her as a grandmother….
Glenn Close stars as Eve Wilde, who is about to get married to her fourth husband, Harold (Patrick Stewart). Her adult children aren’t too sure about this, nor is her favourite ex-husband, Laurence (John Malkovich). But the family, extended family, former family members and friends gradually gather in a huge house where the wedding is to take place.
I found the sheer number of people rather overwhelming; it was hard to keep track of who was whom, as more and more people kept arriving. None of them was particularly memorable. I thought that perhaps this didn’t matter, but then much of the film involves conversations and some rather sordid illicit liaisons. In fact, there’s not much more to the plot which seems to be a farce rather than a comedy, with very little actual romance until towards the end.
The acting was good - and we found ourselves, more than once, reminded of Meryl Streep; Glenn Close is not related to her, as far as we know, but seemed to have her mannerisms and expressions, and even her tone of voice in several places. I don’t know if this was deliberate or not.
But there really isn’t much story. There are a few good lines, and one or two scenes which we found amusing, but on the whole we found it rather trite. We kept watching despite some scenes which we would prefer not to have seen, and, happily, the film was redeemed by the ending.
Perhaps it was trite; perhaps it was predictable. But it was absolutely the right ending, giving a much more positive message than the rest of the film about the importance of friendship and genuine liking and trust in any relationship.
The UK's 15 rating reflects the adult (but not too explicit) nature of the film; the US rates it as R, probably due to the bad language, the sexual content and the use of recreational drugs.
Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews
Back in 1994, when we were living in the United States, we saw ‘Forrest Gump’ at the cinema. I remember enjoying it very much, despite it being sad towards the end. I had no idea it would be considered an iconic classic twenty-five years later.
We acquired the DVD inexpensively about fifteen years ago, I suppose. I vaguely remember watching it - or parts of it - after we did, but it was more than time to see it again. It’s quite a long film - nearly two and a half hours, so we needed an evening when we could start earlier than usual.
Tom Hanks stars as the young man Forrest who has an IQ of 75, a kind and generous heart, and a gift for running. We see him in the opening sequence sitting at a bus stop, holding a large box of chocolates, and chatting to anyone who sits down next to him. He starts to tell the story of his life, beginning with his first shoes which came with leg braces when he was perhaps seven or eight years old. They were supposedly to help his back become straight.
Forrest’s mother (Sally Field) is loving and supportive throughout, encouraging him to consider himself as good as anyone else, and to achieve whatever he can. She is determined to have him educated in a mainstream school, and willing to do something rather sordid to achieve her wish; however it all happens off-screen with only a few noises, which young Forrest doesn’t understand. We see everything through his eyes, which gives a wonderfully ironical touch throughout the film.
For Forrest finds that, supported by his mother and his one friend Jenny, he can do anything he wants to. His incredible running speed means he can escape the bullies, and he’s spotted by an American football coach. Despite his limited academic prowess, he is able to get a scholarship to college to play football, and to his mother’s great satisfaction, he gains a degree. He then goes into the army and is sent to Vietnam…
It’s a very engaging storyline; Forrest’s determination to help people and to keep running lead to all kinds of unexpected benefits, most of which he doesn’t fully understand. He gets to meet three US Presidents, he is given a bravery award, he finds himself caught up in an anti-war demonstration, and later becomes a TV celebrity. There are some very cleverly made sequences showing him apparently meeting famous people. One of the extras on the second DVD in my set shows some of the techniques used to fit the actors concerned seamlessly into archive black and white footage.
But despite some low-key humour and the satirical approach to the whole thing, it’s basically quite a sad story. Our version is rated 15, which slightly surprised me; there’s some implied nudity but nothing overt; some sexual activity, but nothing at all shown outright. There are a few instances of ‘strong’ language (though nowhere near as many as in the book on which the film is based) - but really very few. I assume the rating is due to the violence in the war scenes - and although brief, it is quite gory at times.
There are no villains, there isn’t even really a storyline as such, yet it’s a wonderful film. Tom Hanks is superb as Forrest, as is Michael Conner Humphreys who plays him as a child. It’s a celebration of an ordinary person who is not good-looking or intelligent, yet achieves beyond most people’s wildest dreams. The ending is bittersweet but overall encouraging.
Although I gather that the film is rated 12 nowadays (PG-13 in the US), I don’t think I’d show this to a young teenager. Most of them wouldn’t understand the humour or even know who most of the black-and-white famous people were, and the story as a whole could be quite disturbing to a sensitive child. I doubt if it would interest most of them anyway.
But to older teens and adults, I would recommend this highly. The extras are worth seeing too, if you have a version that includes them. We were particularly taken with the screen test interviews for the children.
Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews
This film was recommended to me by Amazon, I assume, because I have very much liked other films with Meryl Streep. She is an outstanding actress, in my view. She 'becomes' the characters she plays in a way that’s rare. The variety of roles she has undertaken is astonishing - and ‘Ricki and the Flash’ is no exception.
Streep, who was over 65 when this film was shot, plays Ricki, a rock singer who hasn’t hit the big time, but plays regularly in a somewhat sleazy bar. During the week she works in a supermarket on the tills, with the aim of making ends meet; but she struggles to do so. Ricki could have passed for forty when we first see her singing and playing with her band, ‘The Flash’; as events turn out we realised that she was probably supposed to be in her fifties.
Early in the film we learned that Ricki’s real name is Linda, and she used to be married to the respectable, well-off Pete (Kevin Kline). They have mostly been out of touch for years, since she abandoned him and their three young children to follow her dreams of becoming a star. But a crisis has hit: their daughter Julie’s husband has left her, and Julie is seriously depressed. Julie is played by Meryl Streep’s daughter Mamie Gummer.
So Ricki flies to Indianapolis to spend a few days with her ex-husband and daughter, greeted at first with animosity, but surprisingly quickly she finds that she can help. Her sons are less keen to see her when they have dinner together: one of them has just got engaged, but doesn’t plan to invite his mother to the wedding….
There are several themes in this story. The main one is about what real motherhood means, and how being with children as they grow up matters more than giving birth to them. It’s about following dreams, about family relationships in general, about the contrast between material wealth and talent. There are one or two mildly amusing moments and a great deal that’s poignant and thought-provoking.
Having said that, it’s not the greatest script, and I didn’t much like the music; rock of that nature isn’t my style, and I found it rather too loud at times. Inevitably there’s quite a lot of music, as we see Ricki on stage; in one of the extras we learned that all the music is performed by the characters live to camera, and that Meryl Streep had to learn how to play a guitar in order to take this part.
Greg (Rick Springfield), Ricki’s lead guitarist and boyfriend, is excellent in his role too as a caring and understanding - as well as extremely talented - man. I was surprised to read that the actor is the same age as Streep; he, too, could easily have passed for forty or fifty.
The rating is 12 (PG-13 in the US) and that seems about right to me. There’s one implied intimate scene but we don’t see anything other than a few clothes being discarded in advance. There is some bad language but not the worst words, and there’s no violence at all. The content wouldn’t be of much interest to children or younger teens anyway.
It was rather different from anything we had seen for a while, and we thought it very well made. Recommended, if you are a fan of Meryl Streep and would like to see her in something entirely different. Or if you like films based around rock music.
Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews
I’m pretty sure we saw the film ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ at the cinema, shortly after it was released in the summer of 1986. We thought it amusing, if exaggerated and unrealistic in places. It stayed in my mind as a 1980s classic, and when we first started collecting DVDs about fifteen years ago, it’s one that I bought inexpensively.
However, as far as I recall, we never actually watched the DVD, although our sons probably did. But last night, wanting something light weight and not too lengthy to watch, we decided to see it. I recalled that it was about a teenager who took an unauthorised day off school, but not much more. My husband remembered something about a red car…
My first surprise on watching it was that Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) looks so young. The actor must have been in his mid-twenties when the filming was done, but Ferris is only supposed to be seventeen or eighteen - in his last year at an American high school. He could have passed for fifteen or sixteen, in my opinion.
Some of the film is narrated by Ferris, directly to camera, as he explains some of the way his mind works. He’s a young man of ingenuity, able to hack his way into computers (admittedly rather basic ones at that period), and also to anticipate various other people’s reactions to his own actions. We first meet him as he is pretending - quite realistically - to be sick, insisting that he has to go to school while his parents tell him he must stay home. His sister Jean (Jennifer Grey) knows perfectly well what is going on, and is annoyed with him, but doesn’t give him away.
Once everyone else is out of the house, Ferris leaps into action. He persuades his friend Cameron to drive him, and fools the school into releasing his girlfriend Sloane for the day. He is highly manipulative, but in such a friendly, charming way that people can’t resist him… and Ferris seems to fall on his feet every time he pushes the boundaries. Of course it’s meant to be humorous, and his luck and charm are exaggerated in places. But we know of one or two people with this kind of personality - and, in general, remarkable luck - so could see that he might well have been based on a real person.
There’s a lot of slapstick, some situational humour, and the ongoing tension of wondering whether or not Ferris and his friends are going to get away with their increasingly risky behaviour. The school principal, Mr Rooney, is shown as an archetypical bad guy, not merely hoping to see justice done, but determined to make life miserable for Ferris. While I could see his point, initially, of not wanting someone to get away with playing hooky so often, he is so nasty - albeit in a comic way, at times - that it was hard to do anything other than root for the rule-breakers.
The school is shown as extremely tedious, with the most boring lessons, students half asleep or involved in different activities while teachers drone on. I hope that part, at least, was unrealistically exaggerated. But it made it easier to support Ferris, who probably learned a great deal more in his day off than he would have done in school.
There’s a far more serious theme too, in that of Cameron, an unhappy, chronically ill young man who has missed far more school than Ferris has, and who - as become increasingly obvious during the film - has a sad and neglectful family life. There’s a dramatic scene at the end that would horrify some car enthusiasts, but it is the start of something more positive, although we don’t get to see the outcome.
The actors were very well-cast, the pace excellent, and we both enjoyed the film very much. It’s rated 15 in the UK, which seems rather high by today’s standards; there’s some strong language and innuendoes, but they are not excessive. There’s nothing explicit, and the violence is minor and infrequent. The US rating of PG-13 is more appropriate in my view; I expect that nowadays it would be rated 12 in the UK, or even PG.
There are some extras, made about twenty later when the DVD was produced. It was interesting to see some of the cast look back on the making of the film, but it was more reminiscence than anything particularly engaging.
Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews
