Saving Grace
Imagine a Cheech and Chong pothead comedy, only instead of two scruffy  lowlifes, the movie is about an aimless Scottish gardener and a middle-aged  British widow with a green thumb. Grace (Brenda Blethyn ofSecrets and  LiesandLittle Voice) has just discovered that her recently deceased  husband has left her with an enormous debt when her gardener Matthew (Craig  Ferguson,The Big Tease) asks her to help him tend to his small,  personal-use marijuana crop. Grace soon realizes that they can turn her green  house into a hydroponics laboratory and turn out a profitable crop--if only they  can keep the local constables at bay and then find a dealer to actually sell the  stuff.Saving Gracehas well-developed characters, intelligent dialogue,  a charming and capable cast, and clean, clear direction. But at heart it's still  a marijuana comedy, with most of its funniest moments coming from the silly,  stoned behavior of elderly ladies and other stuffy Brits. Nothing wrong with  that, and Blethyn and Ferguson give the film a strong anchor. The ending goes a  little over-the-top, but most of the movie is well-grounded in genuine human  behavior. A subplot about Matthew's girlfriend's pregnancy is treated with  respect and integrity. Sweet, silly, and sincere.--Bret Fetzer