Saving Grace, a comedy about a naïve Cornwall widow who turns her greenhouse into a COPS-worthy pot farm in an attempt to save her family home, is predictable in much the same manner that a Jane Austen novel is predictable. Obstacles are strewn in front of the large cast of characters, but the audience can rest assured that when the story winds down, all romantic pairings will be firmly established, all financial woes will be conveniently resolved, and everyone will live happily ever after. While Saving Grace is short on plot originality, it manages to avoid mediocrity with crisp dialogue and strong performances from a cast with comedic chemistry. What this film lacks in plot, it makes up for by being quite funny. Saving Grace is very smart and amusing, and the audience laughed so loudly during several parts of the film that it was difficult to absorb the dialogue.
As the opening credits flash over a black screen, the audience’s first introduction to the film is auditory. A joint is lit, someone inhales, and then , after a few moments have passed, one hears a hearty exhale. The man behind the joint is Matthew (Craig Ferguson, best known to U.S. audiences as Nigel Wick on “The Drew Carey Show”), a Scottish gardener and small-town pot source. He’s taking a bit of rest while digging the grave of John Trevethan, a businessman who has committed suicide and left his wife, Grace (Brenda Blethyn), with a massive estate and an overwhelming pile of bills. Grace soon has to let Matthew go from his position as her gardener, and Matthew’s finances suffer, as his side business as the neighborhood pot dealer stalls due to plants that won’t thrive. From the moment Grace stands in her beloved greenhouse and snips one of her prized orchids to wear to her husband’s funeral, it’s clear that Matthew’s sickly pot plants will collide with Grace’s green thumb, and before too long, their shared desire for money will drive them together.
Being that this is all takes place in a tiny coastal town not unlike the one that woke up Ned Devine, it’s inevitable that the entire town will rally around Grace and Matthew, in spite of the illegal nature of their business venture. The requisite crew of eccentric locals initially prevents numerous creditors from harassing Grace, and later keeps the seemingly clueless police officer (well played by Ken Campbell) from stumbling across her greenhouse secret. Eventually, however, Grace and Matthew must find a distributor for their harvest. The plot forces them away from their safe fishing village, and into the dangerous (but not really, as this is a happy ending film through and through) realm of London drug lords.
Grace is the axis around which Saving Grace must revolve, and Blethyn does well in this capacity. Succumbing only occasionally to the over-the-top performance tendencies that were so distracting in Little Voice and Secrets and Lies, Blethyn allows Grace to evolve subtly. Given some of the inconsistencies in the plot, this is impressive. The audience is asked to believe that Grace was completely oblivious to her husband’s financial situation, while simulataneously buying that Grace was very well informed about the identity of her husband’s London mistress. As Grace, Blethyn must be believably clueless and credibly strong, and she does a reasonable job, given some of the silliness of the plot.
I was much more impressed with the supporting cast. Martin Clunes (Burbage in Shakespeare in Love) was consistently interesting and witty as Dr. Bamford, the pot smoking local doctor. Clunes’s comedic timing is dead on, and I’m growing more and more fond of his work as he appears in an increasing number of films. Woefully underutilized, Leslie Phillips portrays the local Vicar, who always knows everything that’s transpiring around him, and manages to give moral support to his flock without being critical of their indiscretions. Rumor has it that he’ll be appearing as Lara Croft’s butler in the upcoming Tomb Raider film, and I can only hope that he’s given a bit more to do. I also found myself liking Valerie Edmond’s turn as Nicky, Matthew’s skeptical girlfriend. Her features are distinctive and expressive, and she played her role with the right blend of assertiveness and softness to make the character belivable.
However, the real scene-stealer of Saving Grace is Tchéky Karyo, who aggressively smolders in a minor part, and dominates every frame he’s in. This is even more impressive when one considers that his character, mysterious drug dealer Jacques Chevalier, is woefully underwritten, completely unrealistic and key to one of the plot’s most annoying turns. In the hands of a lesser actor, this part could have been utterly ridiculous, but Karyo manages to take his minimal dialogue and screen time and turn his role into one of the best things in the film.
The plot is admittedly ridiculous and predictable, with several cookie cutter scenes that perhaps should have been left out. There was the obligatory “Grace getting high for the first time” scene, and another in which a few of the respectable ladies of the town mistake Grace’s harvest for something else and become inadvertently stoned. In spite of the fact the Matthew and Grace are committing a crime, there is no real tension deriving from the possibility that they may end up in jail, and therefore, the plot really lacks punch. Anyone who thinks that Grace might get in any real trouble probably thinks that the coyote may one day best the roadrunner. The ending was exceptionally annoying, with all the plot points tying up a bit too conveniently, and Grace giving heartfelt thanks to all those who helped her through her hard times. If I hadn’t laughed so heartily through the rest of the film, such an ending would have really bothered me.
While the dramatic cliffs and seascapes make for some lovely camera shots, I must admit that I felt as if I were watching a television production (albeit an exceptionally funny and intelligent television production). The pacing, style and background music reminded me a great deal of Stephen Frear’s The Snapper, which was adapted from the story by Roddy Doyle, and originally aired on television.
Saving Grace is a lighthearted comedy that will appeal to anyone who appreciates strong acting cemented with witty comedic moments, and is willing to overlook the uninspired and derivative plot.
A nutty, proper British widow avoids financial disaster by growing marijuana. Valuable as marijuana is, it's not the currency the bank recognizes. So ...More at HotMovieSale.com
Product DetailsOriginal Title:Saving Grace (2000)Actors: Bill Bailey - Brenda Blethyn - Martin Clunes - Phyllida Law - Tchéky KaryoCondition: NEWFor...More at iNetVideo.com
DVDS. {#Waking Ned Divine} (1998) meets {#Up in Smoke} (1978) in this wacky British comedy about growing marijuana. Grace Trevethan ({$Brenda Blethyn}...More at DeepDiscount.com
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