Reel Critics

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Reel Critics column features movie critiques written

by community members serving on our panel.

‘The Very Thought’ of Hugh is enough

This past year seems to have brought on a mini “British invasion” at

the movies, what with “Shakespeare in Love,” “Elizabeth,” “Austin

Powers,” “Notting Hill,” “Stiff Upper Lip,” etc. For those Anglophiles

looking for their next fix, now there is “The Very Thought of You,” a

modest British romantic comedy. It’s sort of a “Notting Hill” light -- it

has only 1/3 the star power and half the fat.

As told in flashback, we meet Martha (Monica Potter, in the Julia

Roberts role) who boards a flight from Minneapolis to London with only

$35 to her name and an urgent wish to get a fresh start on life. She

meets Daniel (Tom Hollander), a self-absorbed music executive who

immediately tries to finagle a seat next to her on the plane.

Martha later meets Frank (Rufus Sewell, the anti-Hugh Grant), a

self-absorbed former child actor tailor-made for one of those “whatever

happened to” programs on TV. They strike up a conversation about their

sad lives in the park over a shared pint of whiskey.

At this point, the movie seems as aimless and meandering as Frank and

Martha. But finally she meets Lawrence (Joseph Fiennes, of “Shakespeare

in Love”), a not-quite-so-self-absorbed bridge teacher (don’t ask). If

you have any doubts about Lawrence being more sensitive and sincere than

the other two guys, just take a look at those big brown puppy-dog eyes.

The major plot of this movie is that all three men are 1) extremely

attractive losers in their own right; 2) lifelong friends with little in

common; and 3) in love with Martha. You can probably figure out the rest.

Add the nearly exact same ending as “The Thomas Crown Affair,” and you

have 90 minutes with all the charm and gusto of a cup of Earl Grey and a

toasted scone.

* SUSANNE PEREZ, 45, lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant

for a financial services company. Go ‘Outside Providence’ for film like

‘Mary’

“Outside Providence” is the latest film from the Farrelly Brothers

(“Dumb & Dumber,” “There’s Something About Mary”).

Hoping to cash in on the fame from last summer’s raunchy smash hit,

co-written and directed by the brothers and Michael Corrente, the

“Providence” ad campaign identifies it as coming from the guys who made

“There’s Something About Mary.” In my opinion this is a marketing

mistake, as if you expect a film like “Mary,” you will be disappointed.

Set in 1974, “Providence” is more a coming-of-age story about Tim

Dunphy (played by Shawn Hatosy), an alcohol-drinking, dope-smoking high

school senior from shabby and seedy Pawtucket, R.I..

Injected with warmth and humor, the story follows Tim as he is sent

away from his wasted friends and loser-lifestyle by his blue-collar,

working-class father (Alec Baldwin) to Cornwall Academy, a New England,

upper-crust prep school. There he meets and falls in love with pretty,

well-bred, and Ivy League college-bound senior Jane Weston (Amy Smart).

Jane shows him he is more than he believed himself to be and that he can

break from his past to make something of himself.

Yes, there are bits of the Farrelly brothers’ signature tastelessness

in this film (i.e. a three-legged dog and/or a wheelchair-bound younger

brother who, while being pulled behind a van on a rope, slams into the

van when it brakes sharply). But for the most part “Providence” is a

decent, heartwarming story clearly meant to appeal to a wider audience.

Although I thought everyone’s performance in the film was fine and it

was a good film with a few laughs, I felt the movie was disjointed,

edited erratically, and ultimately the outcome was inevitable and

predictable. Therefore, I can’t give it my best rating of “pay full

price” or even a “bargain matinee.”

But, rated R for drug use, strong language, and sexual references, I

would highly recommend it as a video rental.

* RICHARD BRUNETTE, 35, is a recreation supervisor with the city of Costa

Mesa and a Costa Mesa resident.