not too bad

Rating: Null/10 (1 September 2002)

You know what this film is about?
It's about £30k onto the value of my parents flat!
Seriously, besides the noticeable effect on west London house prices (resident one R. Curtis), and the fun to be had baiting Japanese tourists in the Portobello (everyone has painted their door blue now!), this isn't a bad movie.
The obvious comparison is with Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). But the essential difference for me is that the female lead in this is sympathetic. Roberts brings to the role a charm and a beauty beyond mere physical appearance. What I find wrong about MacDowell's similar efforts (Four Weddings, Green Card (1990), Groundhog Day (1993)), is that I can't understand why the male lead actually likes her. Given that the film makers wouldn't tell MacDowell "play it so that nobody likes your character", I can only attribute this difference to the relative abilities of the actresses. Which surprised me, as I wasn't previously a huge fan of old fat-lips (the band Bongwater described the execrable Pretty Woman (1990) as "It's fun to be a prostitute!").
This is a fairly mindless, but very warm and fuzzy movie. Don't expect to be intellectually challenged, or get a real picture of what life in West London is like. But if you are in the right mood, and/or with the right person, it will be a pleasantly spent evening.