Opened in the UK today and the reviews ranged from awful to great. Such a difference of opinion meant I had to see it.
There's much said about the difference between the US/UK sense of humour but personally I think, at least in TV terms, the US leaves us standing. Which is why I find it strange that people outside the UK seem to like this film.
For the benefit of US viewers, most of the cast are top notch UK actors. And you'll know that Frank Oz has made some decent films. But this is so awful it made me genuinely angry.
I stayed with it because I read that, despite a slow start, it gathers momentum into a kind of Fawlty Towers farce/comedy of errors. I was still waiting at the end. It was hard to watch, a film so awful it made me feel that somehow it was all my fault, and it was too late to do anything about it.
Its a shame that such a great character actor as Peter Vaughan (Uncle Alfie) is used in such a demeaning way. Worse still, it made the lovely Keeley Hawes look dowdy.
I had the choice of Heartbreak Kid or this crap tonight, and I'm pretty sure I went the wrong way.
There's much said about the difference between the US/UK sense of humour but personally I think, at least in TV terms, the US leaves us standing. Which is why I find it strange that people outside the UK seem to like this film.
For the benefit of US viewers, most of the cast are top notch UK actors. And you'll know that Frank Oz has made some decent films. But this is so awful it made me genuinely angry.
I stayed with it because I read that, despite a slow start, it gathers momentum into a kind of Fawlty Towers farce/comedy of errors. I was still waiting at the end. It was hard to watch, a film so awful it made me feel that somehow it was all my fault, and it was too late to do anything about it.
Its a shame that such a great character actor as Peter Vaughan (Uncle Alfie) is used in such a demeaning way. Worse still, it made the lovely Keeley Hawes look dowdy.
I had the choice of Heartbreak Kid or this crap tonight, and I'm pretty sure I went the wrong way.