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| Blethyn and Ferguson are a great pair. |
Directed by Nigel Cole
Produced by Mark Crowdy
Written by Mark Crowdy and Craig Ferguson
Starring Brenda Blethyn, Craig Ferguson, Martin Clunes and Tcheky Karyo
B+
Grace Trevethyn (Blethyn) is an upstanding housewife living in the small English fishing village of Port Isaac. When her husband dies, she learns of his mounting debts and failed business practices. She has no income, and her late husband's finances could jeopardize her future. Faced with losing her home, Grace gets her pot-smoking gardener Matthew (Ferguson) to help grow several kilos of marijuana, which is tough, given that it is an illegal activity. They manage to produce a lot of it, despite their lack of experience and any form of security. However, the pair must then sell their product, and negotiating a price with a drug dealer could prove challenging, as well as life threatening.
Not unlike such lovable comedies as Local Hero and The Full Monty, this film utilizes a charming locale and its inhabitants to create a warm, inviting environment. The town and its people make this a very enjoyable, lighthearted affair with endearing characters and a few laughs along the way. Of course, it isn't the best of its kind, but the film has an atmosphere of ease about it that's infectious. Blethyn and Ferguson have wonderful chemistry. While she's given some comedic performances, Blethyn never really gets a chance to do comedy like this, and she seems at home in the role of Grace. Ferguson's Matthew is also well-cast, as the former late-night talk show host proves to be a natural as the funny sidekick. The film made a little noise on the awards circuit at the time of its release, but it's not really an awards movie. It's small, delightful and entertaining is all, which is just what this film needed.
Oscar Tally: None
Oh I saw this ages ago and enjoyed it! Too bad Ferguson is not acting anymore, I think he's quite good. I like the chemistry between him and Blethyn, cute little Scottish flick!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it, too! It's such a fun little flick.
DeleteI swear I've heard of this and yet...I think I thought it was something else. I think I was thinking State of Grace...that's Oldman right? I still haven't seen that one either. I may check this out.
ReplyDeleteYeah, State of Grace is Oldman. You should watch it. ;) I sometimes get this confused with Savage Grace - the Julianne Moore-Eddie Redmayne movie. Hope you get to check it out.
DeleteThis is a terrific small movie. I saw it in the theatre on its initial release and was charmed by the outlandish premise.The two stars really do seem to be having a good time. Ferguson had another cute movie out around the same time as this called The Big Tease that co-starred Frances Fisher about a hair dressing competition that had some wacky tagline that went something like he came, he combed, he conquered! If you haven't seen it it has a similar sense of whimsy as this film.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I also enjoyed The Big Tease, which I saw a few years ago. Both films are small, but fun.
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