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"'Grace'
Under Pressure"
by Scott Mantz
"Saving Grace"
Brenda Blethyn, Craig Ferguson
Directed by Nigel Cole
One thing's
for sure--you can always count on the British to save the day. In
some cases, they can even save the whole year. That's what happened
in 1997, when a little film called "The Full Monty" flashed its
way into theaters and walked away with a ton of money. The following
year, "Waking Ned Devine," while not a runaway success in the vein,
er, the vain of "Monty," was still an unqualified hit. Now weeding
its way into theaters is "Saving Grace." Comparatively speaking,
"Grace" is much better than most of the films out there, and while
the subject matter is enough to give you the giggles, it's not the
all-out riot that it should be.
Poor Grace (Brenda
Blethyn). As if it wasn't bad enough that her husband went skydiving
without a parachute, now she's in over her head with a mountain
of debt. With bills piling up and checks bouncing left and right,
she finds herself in danger of losing her beautiful house. That
is, until her pot-smoking gardener Matthew (Craig Ferguson) comes
up with a bright idea. Using her greenhouse, Grace can conceivably
grow enough marijuana to sell it off, pay her bills, and save her
home. Grace and Matthew try to keep their plan a secret, but that
turns out to be the easy part. Staying one step ahead of the law
and unloading the stuff--that's the hard part.
From the outset,
"Saving Grace" has everything it needs to qualify as this year's
"The Fully Monty," or at least, this year's "Waking Ned Devine."
Like those films, "Grace" takes place in a small working-class town,
and the story is filled with quirky and likable characters. Like
those films, "Grace" contains a heartfelt and ordinary main character
who finds herself in the precarious situation of doing something
that she would never normally do.
Unfortunately,
"Grace" tries a little too hard to push the right buttons, and the
effort to connect to the working class blokes doesn't come across
as naturally as in the other films. While there's nothing wrong
with setting up your characters, the ones here are not very interesting
and don't hold your attention. It takes a while for things to get
going, and when they finally do, the jokes are so predictable that
you see them coming from a mile away.
Brenda Blethyn
is such an accomplished actress that she can read from the phone
book and make it sound incredible. While it's nice to see her lighten
up after heavy roles in "Secrets & Lies" and "Little Voice," it
still feels like the material here is beneath her. She certainly
has her moments, particularly when she's getting high with a little
help from her friend, but for the most part, it's a wasted role.
Craig Ferguson, who also co-wrote and co-produced, plays the gardener
who's a pothead in more ways than one. He conveys an air of irresponsibility,
and it's his bright idea that plants the seeds of the film.
What's ironic
is how much "Saving Grace" has in common with another recent independent
film--"The Opportunists." Both films feature main characters who
get caught under a mountain of debt and resort to criminal behavior
to get themselves out of it. But where Christopher Walken is reluctant
to embrace his illegal behavior, Brenda Blethyn is so naive that
she actually seems to enjoy it.
Desperate times
call for desperate measures, and in this day and age, times are
definitely desperate. In lieu of anything better out there, "Saving
Grace" is sure to satisfy your hunger for cinematic munchies, and
while it's hardly the British equivalent of a Cheech & Chong movie,
it's still a long way from being a drag. My advice? See it with
a bud.
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