Mmm... Let me at 'im! (Jack And Sarah (DVD))

Member Name: MorganaDQ

Product:	Jack And Sarah (DVD)
Date:	11/04/01 (197 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's a 'chick flick' with Richard E. Grant

Disadvantages: See above... how could there be?

Hi. My name is Morgie and I like 'chick flicks'. But ya know something? I don't care what you all think, coz I love this film! There I said it. Yes, this is (as far as I'm concerned) a 'chick flick', and I don't care who knows that I watch it maybe a little more often than I should.

*Morgie takes a deep breath, relieved to have finally admitted her terrible affliction*

Okay, I think I can carry on. Where was I? Oh, I remember now. I was gonna tell you about the film.

Well, it's a romantic comedy type thingamajig, but with some real heartache and tears and stuff. Really. But don't let this terrible description put you off, coz I really think it's worth watching.

The plot revolves around Jack. The first few minutes of the film sees Jack and his wife, Sarah, preparing to move house whilst she's heavily pregnant. We have the awful builders at the new place taking advantage at every possible moment, we have an excitable Jack preparing for the birth of their child, we have the interfering parents, and a drunk who's taken up residence in Jack's skip.

Now, this all sounds extremely farcical when put like that, but it really isn't. This is an intelligent comedy with a predictable, yet still enjoyable, plot. Add some of the best British actors to the mix and you're onto a winner.

So where's the heartache? Well, I'm not gonna tell you, it's something you'll have to find out for yourself. I will say, however, that Jack finds himself becoming a single parent. Unfortunately though, he doesn't take to it very well to begin with. Enter interfering parents and mother-in-law to sort out Jack's life for him (don't you just love that!).

Now, he does get back on track with his new life, but we still have more to come. Oh yes... next we have the odd American waitress who's having big problems with her job (the
people she serves, her boss, you name it). Jack gets a few minutes to himself to eat his lunch when Amy (said waitress) takes care of the baby. It seems the perfect solution for Jack to offer her the job of nanny when she walks out on her job at the cafe. And this is where the story really begins. When all's said and done, this is a romantic comedy after all.

There are no big twists in the story, though the end sequence tried to surprise us it really doesn't. But this isn't a film about twists and turns, and keeping you guessing. It's a film about coping with the unexpected, about fear, grief, the trials of being a single parent, but most of all it's about love. The soppy, bucket-grabbing, 'chick flick' kind of love that we all hate to admit we actually like.

One of the best things about this film was the cast. It's strong and works well together. Let me list them for you, get at least a little structure to this for a while... make you feel like you're reading anything but a mad-woman's ramblings...

Richard E. Grant (Jack)
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If ever there was a name to sell a film, this is it. And if not the name, certainly the face. By far one of the best actors we have, he takes on this role superbly. He never goes over the top with the mushy stuff, and is simply his stunning best. Okay, so as a woman I'm biased right? But how many men out there would say he was awful in "Withnail & I"? Exactly. None. And there you have it, he's an excellent actor who brings true form to a character who, tackled by anyone else, I really don't think would have carried the film.

Richard E. Grant plays Jack with real honesty, and his performance is never laboured. It's natural where it needs to be, and 'laugh out loud' funny where it needs to be too. He makes it so very easy to empathise with the character without him being too weak, and the
moments of humour that are found in his everyday life are easy to recognise in our own (occassionally strains of "Withnail & I" appeared, but not often). He strikes a perfect balance as this single father with so many responsibilities, and so little time.

Samantha Mathis (Amy)
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Okay, so this is the token dippy (ish) Amercian. She's blonde too, surprise surprise. I like Samantha Mathis, I really do, but she's just a little too irritating to like the character properly. Of course, that probably has more to do with the script writers than anything. Saying that though, the two leads do work well together. Although not as strong as it could be, the spark *is* there between them and makes the romantic plot believable.

Judi Dench (Margaret, Jack's mother)
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As ever, she's excellent, though a little typecast. Maragaret is one of those mums so many people have. She's starchy, at times very snobbish, yet she has a good heart and will stand by her friends and family through anything. She may complain, but she still stands by them.

Judi Dench is her usual great self. She almost seems to play the character down a little, which is certainly the best way she could have done it. A character this strong would have failed miserably with anything but an understated performance. There's no secret to the character... what you see is what you get, and what you get is so true it's funny without needing anything else.

Ian McKellan (William, the drunk)
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It goes without saying doesn't it? Another excellent performance by yet another of our country's finest. William is played with sympathy, yet it's done in such a way as to allow the audience to understand without getting too soppy over the character. At no point do we discover how William ended up on the street, but it isn'
;t critical to the plotline, so why bother with unnecessary details?

The performance we see on screen is real, like so many others in this movie, and is yet another to simply sit back and enjoy.

Eileen Atkins (Jack's Mother-in-law)
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This is one of those actresses you know you've seen, but can't quite remember where. It's a shame too, because she's excellent. She plays Phillipa with great sympathy and understanding, never once going over the top with her interpretation of her.

The character isn't nearly as harsh as Judi Dench's is, although she appears that way at times. Throughout the film we see glimpses of true compassion, and towards the end she shows us a real person with real feelings, something so many actors seem to have such a problem doing in my experience of late. What can I say other than, she's a joy to watch.


Cheri Lunghi, Imogen Stubbs and David Swift put in some excellent performances too, though their roles are limited in the grand scheme of the film so I see no need to expand on this. Not one of the above actors played it wrong. Again, they're all excellent (although I always find Imogen Stubbs to be a little sickly... I always have, it has nothing to do with this role in particular) and their contributions are a joy to watch.

As I said at the start, we have a collection of some of the best British actors in this film. It's a funny script with believable characters and honest performances. So why didn't it get the acclaim that I think it deserved? Well, maybe it was just a little too polished, a little too perfect? Or maybe it was just a little too Americanised for a British film? I'm really not sure. All I know is it's a crying shame it's not as well known as I think it deserves to be.

Even the soundtrack is excellent on this. Who could go wrong with the likes of Eurythmics, Gabr
ielle, Simply Red and Del Amitri? There are more, but I'm not gonna go through the whole list. Needless to say the music adds that unmistakable British touch to this film, just putting the icing on an already tasty bit of cake.

The comedy is well balanced with the emotional scenes, and although at times is a little farcical (like the opening sequence with Richard E. Grant hanging onto the side of a wheel clampers white van yelling at him, "Yes, that's right it's me, you've got a live one!" as he's being driven through the London streets), it never detracts from the point of the film, but simply makes it that bit more enjoyable. I think without the comedy, we'd all either be falling asleep, or wallowing in pity with our hankies permanently attached to our faces with this one.

This is my recommendation. Ladies, close your curtains, take the phone off the hook and get rid of your bloke (for the night). Make sure you have your box of choccies on one side, your bottle of wine on the other and your box of tissues very close to hand (trust me, you'll need them). Relax back into your favourite chair and press play. Now are you ready? One.... two.... three.... drool! Hehehe. Well come on, did you really think I was gonna let the fact that Richard E. Grant is absolutely blooming gorgeous escape this opinion? You should know me better than that by now ;)

*Morgie's eyes glaze over as she starts to picture said gorgeous bloke with tiny baby*

Okay, I've raved (and drooled) about this little offering for quite long enough. I'm gonna leave you with one of my favourite bits...

<Richard E. Grant appears outside of Mothercare, waves some products in the air and shouts across the street to heavily pregnant wife who's waiting in the car...

"Do you want nipple pads, or nipple shields, or just the pads? Okay, I'll get both. Flesh coloured or white?"
>

*Morgie wanders off chuckling to herself*

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Amazon currently have this title on offer at £6.99

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