Pity about the weak script, but by some miracle the director has managed to dovetail British and Canadian humour. The two men are a weepy alcoholic and a hardline Scot, author of a bestselling book. The arrival of the blonde English ex-wife of Richard wearing a faux leopard-skin coat is the culmination of class horror: she was married to an award-winning author but dresses like a Primark frump. Betrayals, interrelations, guilt, self-acclaim. Grieving in advance, it's all borderline histrionic. How many British citizens in the last century have actually read Middlemarch by one of the country's greatest authors? My guess is around 2%, including those forced at school, who never reached the end. While the night scene in the bar with her agent deserves an award for poor acting (not entirely their fault, the script is uneven), the café set with the daughter, boyfriend (his wife), and mother is hilarious and too short; more competent screenwriters would have drawn it out into a Greek tragedy/farce. "We are giants, full of rage and joy," says the stricken mother [1:06]. And the best but too-brief comedy scene takes place in yet another café when Kaitlyn meets her online date in the presence of her biological father and the step-sister. The boy is a cute ingenue, eminently eligible, does not even know that the father is an icon of world literature, so the playing field is level. Pity the writer/director didn't take the macabre further, and instead we get plinking pianos and classic American reckoning. In the end, however the Canadians might pitch their differences from their neighbours across the border, they are on the same continent after all (and in the same boat), sharing the abhorrent history of displacement and genocide of the native populations. Not a single non-white non-Caucasian individual in the entire movie. No wonder a third of your tax-paying population is p*ssed as hell.
7 Reviews
Surprisingly disappointing
gillwheeler-1431322 March 2021
A number of well known names including John Hannah and Anna Chancellor attracted me to this film but it was more like a Whitehall farce.
Husband Tom was overacted and strangely pathetic, I had no idea this was supposed to be a comedy, the introduction to the film did not indicate this was the case.
A waste of a number of very capable actors, worthy of so much more.
Husband Tom was overacted and strangely pathetic, I had no idea this was supposed to be a comedy, the introduction to the film did not indicate this was the case.
A waste of a number of very capable actors, worthy of so much more.
A bit hit and miss but still reasonably entertaining
MattyGibbs21 September 2017
A woman finds out she might only have a few days to live but her ex husband still hopes to win her back.
This is extremely far fetched and the situations are often off putting and forced but there are still enough good moments to make this an enjoyable romantic drama.
It features a good cast ( three of which were main characters in Four Weddings and a Funeral). Although not riotously funny there is a good smattering of funny moments throughout.
Although probably not as good as it should have been considering the cast involved this is still worth a look if you're in the mood for some easy light hearted entertainment.
This is extremely far fetched and the situations are often off putting and forced but there are still enough good moments to make this an enjoyable romantic drama.
It features a good cast ( three of which were main characters in Four Weddings and a Funeral). Although not riotously funny there is a good smattering of funny moments throughout.
Although probably not as good as it should have been considering the cast involved this is still worth a look if you're in the mood for some easy light hearted entertainment.
Love of My Life
blpkst13 March 2021
I found this film to be entertaining with a mostly solid script. The daughters are a bit weak but perhaps that is more to do with the writing of their characters and less to do with their acting abilities. For the rest of the primary characters, I found them to be fleshed out beautifully in the script. Anna Chancellor, whom many may recognize from "Four Weddings and a Funeral," when she adeptly played a most unlikeable character, plays, in this film, an engaging and attractive mature woman who has been given the news that an operable brain tumor might possibly kill her. She takes the news well while her husband touchingly and humorously sobs uncontrollably. I enjoyed the character driven plot. A nice film for a Saturday afternoon.
Overall a very unrewarding and disappointing script
nigelsmithson17 June 2020
I was hoping for much better than this from such an acclaimed cast, particularly John Hannah.
From the very beginning I was put off; the husband's distraught acting was atrocious. And it didn't get much better.
All six of the main family characters were somewhat unlikable to a greater or lesser extent. The two men (and the 'second' wife) were particularly distasteful. I also abhore characters that constantly tell others to do things which they allow to carry on unenforced i.e. "get out of my house".
The actions of the four married characters at the conclusion of the film were despicable albeit possibly a fair reflection of the declining moral fabric of today's society. The final scene was simply very disappointing.
I think 4 stars is probably an over-rating?
From the very beginning I was put off; the husband's distraught acting was atrocious. And it didn't get much better.
All six of the main family characters were somewhat unlikable to a greater or lesser extent. The two men (and the 'second' wife) were particularly distasteful. I also abhore characters that constantly tell others to do things which they allow to carry on unenforced i.e. "get out of my house".
The actions of the four married characters at the conclusion of the film were despicable albeit possibly a fair reflection of the declining moral fabric of today's society. The final scene was simply very disappointing.
I think 4 stars is probably an over-rating?
One of the best films I have ever seen
akf18064216 May 2019
It's a beautiful, sad and full of metaphors story about being forced to realise whether you've been living your life to the fullest.
It IS hectic and is basically a comedy of errors, yet with very good writing and clever dialogues.
I think those leaving negative reviews took the story too literally, whereas it's a beautiful and crazy combination of all the things in life happening at once - it kinda has the vibe of 1967 film Oscar, just more serious. A really touching story with real characters and great acting.
Wonderful movie.
mdoliner438 January 2022
Carr-Wiggen is the mind behind this concoction surrounding a (maybe) death sentence. This movie, like "If I were You" has a gorgeous theatrical situation. At last a movie where the characters are not complete idiots, though at least a portion of each of them is an idiot. Carr-Wiggen has a talent for mixing the serious with farce. The movie has the flavor of bedroom comedy played out in a pudding of nostalgia, with new plums being pluckd up along the way. Love plays out like a piece of music, with all its variations. The tucked on ending a suspect came from some business mind, not Carr-Wiggen
One thing that always recommends a movie to me is the actors seeming to enjoy themselves, and in this one they have a ball.
One thing that always recommends a movie to me is the actors seeming to enjoy themselves, and in this one they have a ball.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
