Dench and Coogan in Philomena: Not Too Sappy, Not Too Harsh (ENTERTAINMENT)
If you're going to tell a heart-warming story about a sweet, wronged little old lady, it helps -- even if she is played by Judi Dench -- to have a hard-nosed, mordantly witty, cynical journalist along to offset the sugar quotient. That is the brilliant strategy behind the warm, lovely Philomena.