my summer was recently saved by two very different movies .
on opening night , i saw american pie 2 and laughed like a moron .
then a few nights later , i watched and thoroughly enjoyed joel hershman 's greenfingers even though it did n't feature a trip to band camp , girl - on - girl action , or seann william scott .
however , i felt just as good leaving american pie 2 as i did after leaving greenfingers , which tells the offbeat tale of british murderer colin briggs ( clive owen of croupier ) .
after spending roughly half of his life behind bars , he is transferred to a more lenient facility , edgefield .
the picaresque , rustic prison allows its inmates to learn a trade , while enjoying accommodations generally found at most colleges .
at first , briggs does n't want to be there .
he 's used to living as a prisoner and wants to be left alone .
however , his ailing roommate , fergus ( david kelly of waking ned devine ) , wears briggs down through his benign nature .
the two become friends , with fergus giving colin a packet of violet seeds as a christmas gift .
briggs is astonished when the violets grow in the limestone soil , and begins a fight with three other prisoners when an errant soccer ball smashes his beloved flowers .
after the prison 's governor ( warren clarke ) reprimands them , he 's awed at what briggs has accomplished .
and he 's struck by an idea -- briggs , fergus and the other men will grow a garden on the prison 's grounds .
greenfingers , which is " inspired by actual events , " becomes a bit like a sports movie after that .
despite their differences , the men come together and through hard work and love earn a spot at the big game -- in this case a prestigious garden show .
one renegade , in this case , briggs , will prove to have talent .
of course , love will also rear its head ( no , not " prison love " ) . to hershman 's credit , he does n't pump up the drama or try for cheap laughs , like last year 's lame marijuana comedy saving grace .
i had to keep pinching myself when i did n't see a single scene of a hardened con sneezing over a pot of pansies , or the men giving high - fives over a particularly stunning batch of wildflowers .
the movie deals with people and scores on that concept .
it 's wonderful
seeing briggs turn from a bitter prisoner to a man who cares again . give credit to owen for keeping his cool in a part that begs for overacting .
his speech to the parole board about being reborn through gardening is the best scene of its kind since morgan freeman 's last stand in the shawshank redemption .
owen 's bedside scenes with kelly , who lends the film a human touch , are a marvel to behold , emotionally gripping without being sappy .
written by hershman , greenfingers contains plenty of laughs .
most come courtesy of helen mirren , who shines as the world - class gardener who works with the inmates but fears for her daughter primrose ( natasha little ) when she starts dating briggs .
the mother ca n't believe what he 'll do if her daughter " burns the sunday roast .
"
nothing is forced in greenfingers .
the funny lines come forth naturally in conversations and not from punch lines .
primrose and briggs ' relationship takes awkward steps .
even when briggs decides to go back to edgefield , it 's done for reasons of loyalty , not because the movie requires him to do so .
after grimacing through the forced screwball antics of movies like america 's sweethearts and the princess dairies , it 's an almost indescribable pleasure to see a director taking his time to
tell a story very well .
Output: P