Welcome to 5 Favorites. Each week, I will put together a list of my 5 favorites (films, performances, whatever strikes my fancy) along with commentary on a given topic each week, usually in relation to a specific film releasing that week.
This week, Guy Ritchie comes out with a new action thriller with Hugh Grant starring in what appears to be a villainous role. What better time then than to celebrate his work. An affable presence, Grant has had a charmed career in dramatic and comedic roles aplenty with his comedies his best outings.
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Hugh Grant’s rise to fame in the U.S. began with this 1994 Mike Newell film from a screenplay by Richard Curtis. Grant plays Charles, a longtime bachelor who falls in love with Carrie (Andie McDowell), an American transplant. Charles (Grant) is part of a group of friends who are committedly single including Simon Callow, John Hannah, and Kristin Scott Thomas, though Hannah and Callow are in a relationship with each other, just not one united by marriage.
As events conspire against the pair, both Charles and Carrie become engaged to other people, but their unrequired love seems to keep pushing them towards one another. Wonderfully written, this Best Picture nominee was a tremendous help for Grant’s career and made Callow, Hannah, and Scott Thomas much better known to American audiences, all of whom went on to prominent roles in major motion pictures that U.S. viewers loved. This British comedy doesn’t have all of the zany shenanigans that often turn off Americans who don’t always appreciate that style of humor. This allowed them to fall in love with the characters and the situations. It was one of the best romantic comedies of the decade.
No original review available.
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Jane Austen’s oft-adapted Georgian novel was brought to life in probably its best incarnation with Emma Thompson’s sly screenplay. Directed by Ang Lee working at the height of his career, Sense and Sensibility casts Thompson in the role of Elinor Dashwood, one of three daughters to the recently widowed Mrs. Dashwood (Gemma Jones) who must find love and safety in the midst of financial ruin. Kate Winslet co-stars as Elinor’s sister Marianne. Alan Rickman appears as Col. Brandon, who has designs on Marianne, and Grant as Edward Ferrars who’s keen on Elinor.
This comedy of manners is adroitly written and superbly acted. Thompson and Winslet are terrific and carry the film quite well. Rickman and Grant are also good, as the cast around them elevates the material. This is one of the best romantic adaptations of the 1990s and remains a high water mark in the careers of everyone involved. The film earned 7 Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture; Thompson for her lead performance and screenplay, winning for the latter; Winslet in support; as well as three craft categories. Disappointingly, Lee was not nominated, but he would eventually become only the third person (after Frank Borzage and John Ford) to win two Best Directing trophies without the corresponding films (Brokeback Mountain and The Life of Pi) winning Best Picture. Lee’s fortunes have been mixed, but his output has always been wonderful, including this gem.
No original review available.
Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)
Grant is once again the romantic lead in this romantic comedy opposite Renée Zellweger in the title role and Colin Firth as the third corner of the triangle. Zellweger plays Bridget Jones as a self-conscious woman with seemingly bad luck. Unlucky at love and life, she begins seeks a relationship with her womanizing boss Daniel (Grant) who has told her that Mark (Firth) had once slept with his finacée, ending their friendship. Mark initially finds Bridget lacking in charm, but eventually begins to fall for her in spite of his existing engagement to another woman.
Grant has always been able to play both side of the charm card, both endearingly handsome and offensively self-centered. Here he gets to act in the latter role, acquitting himself nicely. Firth and Zellweger are also wonderful. This romantic comedy, adapted from the popular Helen Fielding novel of the same name, is written for the screen by (Richard) Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Fielding herself. Sharon Maguire directs her feature film debut adequately, but the film’s charms are almost entirely the work of the cast rather than any underlying quality of the product. While it’s not a great film and feels especially sexist in hindsight, it’s an enjoyable film that you just have to get past some of its more predictable elements to have fun with.
About a Boy (2002)
Nick Hornby’s novel about a serial monogamist (Grant) who befriends a young boy (Nicholas Hoult) whose mother (Toni Collette) suffers from depression. Grant is blackmailed into befriending Marcus and providing companionship for the young boy while also helping out his mother. As the pair bond, matters in their lives become even more complicated and the house of cards Grant’s lies built begins to crumble. The film was adapted by Peter Hedges and brothers Paul & Chris Weitz. The latter pair direct.
Hedges and the Weitz brothers were nominated for their screenplay, but the film was otherwise ignored by the Oscars. It did only slightly better at BAFTA where Collette also picked up a nomination. Grant’s sole recognition for the film came with a Golden Globes nomination, but no win. Grant gets to blend the easy charm and smarminess together in an endearing performance that challenges the audience to recognize the myriad types of complicated relationships that exist out there. The film explores the nature of becoming an adult and how the delayed-adolescence of some men can be resolved by a grounding element, in this case quasi-parenthood. While that notion has a ring of truth to it, it’s one way of many for men to learn to focus on others rather than themselves and by doing so, they will become happier and healthier.
No original review available.
Love Actually (2003)
Richard Curtis and Hugh Grant have had a solid working relationship over the years, this being the fourth of five such collaborations. This was the first that Curtis himself directed. This film follows ten interwoven Christmas-set storylines and stars a who’s-who of noted British thespians including Grant, Thompson, Firth, Richman, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andrew Lincoln, Laura Linney, Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, Rowan Atkinson, Claudia Schiffer, January Jones, Elisha Cutberth, and many other less famous names. Grant plays the newly-elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who initially dismisses, but ultimately falls for a new member of his staff played by Martine McCutcheon.
Romantic comedies set during the holidays were once a commonplace staple in Hollywood. While they are still made, many of them are TV movies on the Hallmark channel. This was one of the few successful big screen outings and the entire cast deserve a bit of praise for that. Grant’s performance is on par with many of his others, but is far from the best in the film. Everyone does incredibly well, but it’s the relationship between film stand-ins who meet during a naked sex scene in the film production portrayed in the film. Played by Martin Freeman and Joanna Page, the pair easily outshine everyone else in the production. While their relationship is the funniest, everything in this film works well thanks to Curtis’ observant screenplay and his adroit directorial skills.
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