>>REVIEW
KEEPING MUM
STARRING: Rowan Atkinson, Maggie Smith, Kristen Scott Thomas and Patrick Swayze
DIRECTED BY: Niall Johnson
Opens Friday, November 17
Globe
One of the most admirable traits of the British is their innate ability to gracefully deal with life's messes over a piping hot cup of tea. Another is their gentle skill with comedy, that leans towards the understated and gradual compared to our instant and obvious North American humour. It's best to bear this in mind when viewing Keeping Mum.
It's also best to overlook the plot holes big enough to drive a double-decker bus through. Even with these glaring gaps in the story, somehow the cast manages to convey just the right amount of charm and humanity to keep things from totally falling apart.
Reverend Walter Goodfellow (Rowan Atkinson) is a vicar in the small and painfully dull village of Little Wallop. His family consists of a sexually frustrated wife Gloria (Kristen Scott Thomas), a nymphomaniac daughter Holly (Tamsin Egerton) and Petey (Toby Parkes), a much-bullied son.
Gloria's frustration soon spawns a seedy dalliance with the fake ’n’ baked golf pro a delightfully sleazy Patrick Swayze who has carved out a successful career in self-parody (Donnie Darko anyone?).
Young Petey is savagely roughed up at school and suffers quietly while feisty Holly has a revolving door policy with young suitors. Walter spends more time ruminating over a speech than he does paying attention to his flustered brood, and it looks as though things are headed for disaster. Atkinson conveys the well meaning bumblings of the vicar convincingly and there's nary a glimpse of his old alias, Mr. Bean.
Enter Grace (Maggie Smith), a nanny and housekeeper straight out of a storybook. She has a mysterious trunk and lots of snap solutions to the family's woes. She sorts out the bullies, encourages the good reverend in his quest for a perfect address to his colleagues and does away with nearly every nuisance plaguing the family.
It soon becomes apparent her solutions often involve whacking people over the head with blunt objects and disposing of yappy dogs with a swift whack of the shovel. Hardly reasonable and polite British tactics, but somehow Smith carries it off with delightful ease.
As her menacing problem-solving abilities become more evident, the family is forced to snap out of their own issues and deal with each other.
Despite shortcomings in the plot, Keeping Mum is charming, amusing and cute. It is best enjoyed with a hot cup of tea and a forgiving sense of humour. |
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