Did You Hear about the Morgans? (Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker)

(Amazon UK link)

We wanted something light, perhaps mildly amusing, and not too long. We picked out several possibilities from our drawer of unwatched DVDs, and decided on ‘Did you hear about the Morgans?’ starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. I assume Amazon recommended this one to me because I’ve enjoyed other films with these actors. It was given to me for my birthday earlier in the year.

Hugh Grant plays Paul - at least, his character’s name is Paul, although he doesn’t seem any different from most of the other characters Hugh Grant has played. It doesn’t matter. His slightly self-deprecating very English style works extremely well in this, a story which is essentially about a marriage.

Sarah Jessica Parker is Paul’s wife Meryl, who has a high-powered business leading an estate agency in New York. She's a slightly ditzy extravert. Paul is also a business tycoon, and we quickly learn that their marriage has broken up. They have been separated for three months. Paul is much keener than Meryl to get back together, or at least to spend some time together. During the dinner which they manage to squeeze into their busy schedules, we learn a fair amount about them both, and some of the strains that caused them to separate.

Then they go outside and witness a terrible crime… and the perpetrator sees them both. Their lives are in danger, so they’re sent, by the local police, to a tiny village in Wyoming. It’s about as different from New York City as is possible, and Meryl is at first quite resistant…

There’s an underlying tense thread relating to the criminal who is determined to find them. Interspersed with their attempt to fit into life in small-town Wyoming we see brief scenes of their PAs back in New York attempting to get on without them, and we see just how easy it is for them to be traced after a couple of foolish mistakes are made…

However the majority of the film is about Paul and Meryl’s marriage, as they are forced together in fairly small quarters, united in their culture shock in such a tiny, relaxed environment which is such a contrast to their usual lives. Gradually they learn to adjust, in ways that are sometimes quite amusing in a low-key kind of way. There are some great one-liners, mostly delivered by a straight-faced Paul. Hugh Grant excels at this kind of thing.

‘Did you hear about the Morgans?’ fit our requirements perfectly. It’s not the greatest film, although I’m sure we’ll see it again at some point. But we enjoyed it, and afterwards watched one of the extras which showed the locations of the film and how they were chosen.

The crime thread makes it a bit different from the average rom-com. There’s some violence though no gore, and some quite tense scenes, not just the ones involving the criminal. The UK rating is PG which slightly surprised me, but I suppose that’s because of the lack of bad language and intimate scenes.

I wouldn’t want a sensitive child to see this. Some of the tense scenes could lead to nightmares in some young children. I would have rated it 12, and note that the more conservative US censors have given it a PG-13 rating. However, given the subject matter, I can’t imagine anyone under the age of about fourteen or fifteen would have any interest in it anyway.

Recommended.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews

Tea with Mussolini (Maggie Smith)

(Amazon UK link)

Browsing through Amazon and checking my recommendations, as you do, I kept seeing the DVD ‘Tea with Mussolini’. This is probably because both Maggie Smith and Judi Dench are in it, and I have thoroughly enjoyed all their films, particularly when they appear together. I wasn’t too sure about the setting of this one though, or the evident focus on Italian politics as it related to one of the World Wars.

However, eventually I succumbed to curiosity and put it on my wishlist. I was given it for my recent birthday, and we decided to watch it last night. I did not realise until afterwards that it’s not just historical fiction, but a semi-autobiographical film based on the memories of the director, Franco Zeffirelli.

The main focus of the first part of the story is a group of middle-aged women, mostly British, who are well established in the upper class echelons of Italian society. Maggie Smith is brilliant as Lady Hester, the self-defined leader of the group, as she is the widow of a former ambassador. Judi Dench is delightful as a bohemian artist, determined to preserve ancient frescoes. Joan Plowright is also excellent as Mary, secretary to a somewhat promiscuous Italian man. His illegitimate son Luca lost his mother recently but hates living in an orphanage.

Luca, we learn at the end of the film, is the young Zeffirelli, and he is taken to heart by the elderly women. Mary looks after him and the others help with his care and financing, particularly a flamboyant American women called Elsa. She is played (a little surprisingly, to us) by the singer Cher. We had not remembered that she is also a competent actress.

As war looms, the British are advised to leave Italy but this band of women refuses to depart. Lady Hester is convinced that her friend Mussolini will look after them, and manages to get an audience with him. However, it becomes increasingly clear as the film progresses that he has forgotten her entirely.

It’s a bit difficult to work out what the plot is, exactly; it’s a coming-of-age story as far as Luca is concerned, and it’s also a fascinating contrast between the advance of the war and the determination of the band of elderly women to keep their integrity and their traditions. Even when they are taken into custody they want tea at four o’clock…

The pace is good, the settings realistic. The women are exaggerated, but perhaps that’s how a boy like Luca would have seen them. Luca himself - played by Charlie Lucas as a child, and Baird Wallace as a young man - is excellent, his expressions as speaking, sometimes, as his actions and words. While I found some of the action a bit tense, I appreciated the gentle humour in some of the interactions, particularly those involving Lady Hester.

All in all, we thought it an unusual and interesting evening’s viewing. The rating is PG, and I think that’s fair, though the war scenes, and one mild bedroom scene could be disturbing to younger children. I can’t imagine it would be of interest to anyone under the age of about twelve or thirteen anyway.

Recommended.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews

Hampstead (Diane Keaton)

(Amazon UK link)

Every so often I browse my recommendations on Amazon, and come across films I have never heard of. That happened earlier in the year when it suggested I might like ‘Hampstead’. Diane Keaton stars, and I have liked some of her other films. The reviews were mostly positive, so I put it on my wishlist and was given it for my recent birthday.

There seems to have been quite a spate of films about middle-aged or elderly people in recent years. Or perhaps it’s just that I’m seeing them because I have liked or bought others. On the whole we like them, as we’re in that stage of life, and this was quite a positive one on the whole.

Keaton stars as the recently-widowed Emily who lives in a pleasant block of flats in Hampstead in the UK. She’s a bit of a misfit; the only American, in the area, although she has evidently lived there for many years. The other upper-middle class very British women in the building try to involve her in their community meetings and campaigns, but she’s not really all that interested. Nor does she want them to introduce her to suitable gentlemen friends…

Wandering around the neighbourhood she comes across a shack where it’s rumoured an old tramp lives. And indeed, when we first meet Donald (Brendon Gleeson) he’s just received a letter from the council, asking him to leave. He has a flourishing garden and isn’t doing anything wrong… but he looks like a down-and-out.

So the main part of the story is about these two misfits meeting, irritating each other, becoming unlikely friends, and learning surprising things about each other. It’s also about a battle to save Donald’s home, one which catches the imagination of the local people and gets quite out of hand. At a deeper level it’s about pride, and independence, and the importance of accepting help sometimes. It’s also about being free to be oneself, to flout conventions, to move beyond the strict confines of society’s expectations.

Diane Keaton’s role is not very different from other parts I’ve seen her in, but she does it very well and her personality fits that of Emily ideally. I didn’t remember seeing Brendon Gleeson anywhere else; he is wonderful in his role, and there’s quite an onscreen chemistry between the two. Other characters are somewhat caricatured in their enthusiastic snobbery or downright unpleasantness, but that allows for some comic moments; the pace is excellent, I thought, and the whole well scripted and beautifully made.

Sometimes I didn’t catch all the conversation. It wasn’t that Keaton’s accent is hard to understand but there was quite a lot of muttering. Perhaps that was intended, so as to give the impression of conversation rather than any important dialogue. I don’t think I missed anything.

The rating is 12, which we thought about right. There’s a fair amount of bad language, although I don’t recall anything else that would make it unsuitable for children; there's a love story but it involves implications rather than anything explicit. However it’s unlikely to be of much interest to anyone below the age of about thirty. Overall we enjoyed it very much.

Apparently this film is based on a true story, but we decided not to watch the extras so don’t know any details.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews

Saving Grace (Brenda Blethyn)

(Amazon UK link)

We didn’t have much idea what to expect when we decided to watch ‘Saving Grace’ last night. I’m not even sure when we acquired it, although I think it was probably at a recent charity bazaar. We didn’t know of any of the actors, and I don’t think I’ve seen it recommended anywhere.

The film starts rather depressingly with a funeral in a small village. Grace (Brenda Blethyn) is a lively middle-aged woman whose husband has just died in a fall from an aircraft without a parachute. Grace lives in a large and comfortable home with staff, and assumes that she will be reasonably well off. She quickly realises that this is not the case. Her late husband made some poor investments, and mortgaged the house. She has no money, and no way of earning…

Her gardener and caretaker Matthew (Craig Ferguson) is a likeable young man who is determined to keep working for her, even as circumstances become more difficult, and there is no way to pay him. His long-term girlfriend Nicky (Valerie Edmond) is the skipper of a fishing trawler, and there’s quite a side story involving their relationship which is both moving and inspiring. She’s a very strong - and also kind - young woman.

Matthew is involved in something a little shady and asks Grace for some help. At first, she is reluctant to give it. However when she realises that the project he is involved in could earn them both large amounts of money, she decides to take a risk. From this point the story becomes somewhat surreal, with a fair amount of humour. As the plot becomes increasingly unbelievable, the two main actors are so good that it’s easy to be carried along with their ideas, and the story in general. Excellent supporting actors, in addition to Nicky, include the doctor (Martin Clunes) and the vicar (Leslie Phillips).

It’s a genre all on its own; we both agreed afterwards that we had never seen anything similar. The main part of the film relates to a subject I know almost nothing about. There are forays into the London underworld - no doubt somewhat sanitised - as well as the mysteries of complex gardening techniques. The romantic element mainly involves the couple already mentioned, although there’s a slightly contrived ending which resolves all the problems and shows another new relationship.

The rating is 15 (R in the United States), which I assume is because of the subject matter. To say more would be a spoiler - but I think I would have put the rating nearer 12. There’s no violence and no nudity, although there’s the end of one intimate scene, some some rather frank discussion, and some humorous innuendoes. There’s not even a vast amount of bad language, although some ‘strong’ words are used.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind a highly controversial (and illegal) subject matter.

In the extras, here is a short feature about the making of the film, which we watched and thought interesting. There are also staff/crew interviews.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews

Two Weeks Notice (Sandra Bullock , Hugh Grant)

(Amazon UK link)

From time to time I browse Amazon’s recommended books and films, and add a few interesting-looking ones to my wishlist. That was the case for ‘Two Weeks Notice’ which was probably suggested because it features both Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock. I’ve liked films with both of them in the past, and this looked, from the viewer reviews, like my favourite kind of light but reasonably intelligent romantic comedy.

I was given the DVD for my recent birthday, and we watched it last night. Sandra Bullock is entirely believable as Lucy, a somewhat disorganised lawyer who works for a charity. We meet her in the throes of lying down before bulldozers in the hope of saving her beloved local community centre.

Hugh Grant plays George, a billionaire, arrogant playboy. He does it well, but I could never quite believe in this character - the slightly awkward gentleman persona of other films was always in my mind. George’s firm is involved in knocking down the community centre, but they’re also looking for a bright, proactive lawyer. He bumps into Lucy, and manages to persuade her to take the job, promising a huge salary and also that he will save the community centre.

Lucy quickly discovers that George wants a personal assistant/PA as much as a lawyer and becomes increasingly frustrated that he expects her to answer the phone at any time of day or night, no matter how busy she is, for trivial concerns. Eventually she hands in her notice. Even that isn’t straightforward, until another young and attractive woman applies for the job.

Despite my never entirely believing in Hugh Grant as George, he and Lucy have a very good on-screen chemistry, with quick-fire dialogue and great timing. There’s some humour - we smiled several times, even chuckled once or twice - and the romance element, while inevitable, is mostly subtly done.

I appreciated, too, the contrast between faceless corporations who want to make more and more money, and the caring side of humanity which George had apparently never previously noticed. There's a political element, which I guess might upset some who tend towards capitalism, but it's not overt, nor pushed.

The rating is 12, which seems about right to me; not that it would be of much interest to anyone under the age of about 15 or 16. There are no explicit scenes, only partial nudity in a humorous context, and no violence. There are plenty of innuendoes and sexual references and some ‘strong’ language, however.

All in all, it filled the bill perfectly for a light evening’s relaxation. Don’t expect fast action or passion in this - but if you like good rom-coms, I would recommend this one, in a low-key kind of way.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews

Yorkshire Pudding (Adrian Plass)

(Amazon UK link)

I bought this DVD after seeing Adrian and Bridget Plass speaking in a church in the UK some years ago. I had read all their books - and enjoyed them thoroughly - and it had been a wonderful evening of humour, poignancy and much to ponder.

So, wanting to buy something from their bookstall, I picked up the DVD entitled ‘Yorkshire Pudding’. It claims to be short vignettes, intended for discussion, perhaps in small groups. Some of the items listed were evidently from some of Adrian Plass's books, but I was interested to see them dramatised.

The DVD sat in our to-be-watched drawer for a long time, as it never seemed to be the right time to see it. Then, last night, we began watching a film we ended up throwing away. It was full of innuendoes and worse.

I had a bad taste, metaphorically speaking, in my mouth. We wanted to see half an hour or so of something wholesome, in contrast. It was too late to start watching another film, so I pulled out ‘Yorkshire Pudding’. A little ironically, the first sketch involves someone talking about a woman tempted into betraying her husband… but all ends happily and entirely satisfactorily.

There are seventeen vignette interludes on this DVD, all involving Adrian Plass. He appears mostly as himself, with typical self-deprecating humour. There are sketches about boundaries, about decision-making, about guidance, and more. Most are tinged with humour and also contain a positive message.

Bridget Plass comes into a few of the sketches too, in a variety of parts. I loved her role as an Anglican minister, discussing an upcoming joint service with the local free church minister (Adrian). They become increasingly heated as they exaggerate their differences and fight about words. The ending falls a little flat, perhaps, but the bulk of it is very well done.

We were determined only to watch five or six of these sketches, but ended up seeing ‘just one more…’ until we had seen them all. We watched the outtakes too. Many of the vignettes were based on (or taken from) sketches in various of Adrian’s books, although I’m not someone who can pinpoint the sources.

On the back, there’s an explanation of the title. It’s not just that the scenes were all set in Yorkshire. The vignettes are intended as a side dish, so to speak, to accompany a longer talk or Bible study. However, we felt they worked well as something to sit and watch straight through, particularly in contrast to what we had started watching earlier.

The scenery shown is pleasant, green and hilly, and the scripting and acting mostly excellent. Our one gripe was with the way the camera kept zooming in to give close-ups, and then zooming right out again to give a wider view. We found it quite irritating, but it appears to have been deliberate, as it happens in almost every sketch.

The content is Christian, but not churchy or preachy. Indeed, much of the humour comes from satirising some of the strange ways Christians sometimes behave in church settings. The sketch about bad Bible reading, for instance, made us laugh out loud, and reminded me somewhat of Mr Bean in church.

Recommended to anyone who wants something a little offbeat for conversation starters, perhaps with youth groups or small house groups.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews

All Roads Lead to Rome (Sarah Jessica Parker)

(Amazon UK link)

This is one of the many DVDs that Amazon recommended to me. I added it to my wishlist a while ago, based on the blurb and reviews. Inevitably different films appeal to different people, and I thought that ‘All Roads Lead to Rome’ sounded like an interesting storyline, rather different from the typical rom-com. I was given it for my recent birthday, and last night we decided to watch it.

There are four main characters in this film. Sarah Jessica Parker plays Maggie, a somewhat neurotic mother who has brought her teenage daughter Summer (Rosie Day) to Italy for what is supposed to be a relaxing holiday. Summer is upset because she wants to be with her druggie boyfriend. Maggie is over-enthusiastic about the views and atmosphere, in a way that even I found irritating, and I’m a mother rather than a teenager.

They quickly meet Luca (Raoul Bova) who was romantically attached to Maggie many years previously and his mother Carmen (Claudia Cardinale) who seems, at first, to be a little senile. But we soon discover that this is far from the case. She wants to get to Rome for reasons that later become clear… and when Summer takes the opportunity to escape from her mother, Carmen insists on going too.

A lot of the storyline is far-fetched, with a lengthy car chase around the Italian countryside, various near misses, apparent disasters… and then perfect timing towards the climax. But that doesn’t matter; it’s more comedy than romance, and while we didn’t laugh aloud, there were some quite amusing sections. Summer is excellent in her role as an uncommunicative teenager, and quickly bonds with Carmen despite their distance in age and rather different circumstances.

Meanwhile Maggie and Luca join forces to try to find the runaway pair… and in doing so gradually explore what went wrong in the past, and what changes each of them needs to make to their lives. I didn’t find this nearly so convincing, however. I never really believed in Maggie, who smiles too broadly, too often, and has a streak of viciousness which is most unappealing. Luca looks good as a romantic hero, but his treatment of his mother, and his opinion of women in general make him seem unpleasant - and his eventual capitulation is far too rapid.

Still, as a light-hearted evening’s viewing, it filled the bill nicely. There was no deep thought required, and while there is more action than I usually like in a film, it wasn’t difficult to follow. I’d have liked English subtitles for a couple of significant Italian exchanges; it was easy to get the gist, but I’d have liked to know exactly what was said.

The rating is 12 (PG-13 in the US) which I’d say is about right. The story is unlikely to be of interest to children or younger teens anyway; but there’s very little bad language, no nudity or intimate scenes, and no violence. The brief glimpses of Summer’s boyfriend in his squat are sordid, involving drugs, but they’re not shown in a disturbing way.

Not the greatest film, but pleasant enough.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews