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eoghanuk
Reviews
Ladies of Letters (2009)
Why Deliberately Ruin A Classic?
Now I'm a fan of the books, which began the whole Ladies of Letters experience, and an even larger fan of the radio 'plays' performed by Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales which are classic examples of witty British humour.
So to see this on TV I went out of my way to tune in, with the knowledge that even matching the quality of the Radio shows would be a hard task, let alone any chance of surpassing.
To put it short, they've ruined it. I can't wholly blame the performers Maureen Lipman as Irene and Anne Reid as Vera, because so much of the damage has been done by rewriting the scripts- making the 2 ladies more vicious and nasty. This has been done by rewording large passages and making the show less subtle. Now while I'll let other decide if this is needed for the TV transition, personally within five minutes of watching I was asking myself 'Why are these two even writing to each other? They obviously hate each other?' whereas in the confines of Radio & Book, the 2 are friends who fall out. The TV versions are more likely to cross the street and hide if they see the other coming. It may be a small complaint, but it makes the whole set up of the show feel tired before its even begun.
As for Lipman & Reid, they do little to help. Reid is inoffensive as she simply appears to be mimicking Routledge's radio performances, where as Lipman butchers the role. She is so unpleasant as that character that you positively dislike her. Part of the Ladies of Letters charm is based on the fact that you like the 2 characters, but enjoy the miscommunication between the 2. Lipman makes that impossible here.
In short, don't bother. If you know the originals this won't add to them (in fact it runs the risk of damaging them), and if you don't then I suggest you just go to the original source material.
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
All the wrong bits, to make the right movie?
John Cusack; Minnie Driver; Dan Ackroyd & Hank 'Nahasapeemapetilon' Azaria...
That's a list of names I watch with some interest, even if I don't particularly like them (Ackroyd). They've all got good bodies of work behind them and, with Cusack in particular, if I see the name; I'll watch a poor film just for them.
Yet there is something about this movie that never adds up. I mean, I like this film. It keeps me watching the screen at all times (a rare occurrence), but there are so many things that are left as sloppy. I never believe that Cusack is a real hit-man- Ackroyd's that fat & he can't shoot him despite using that many bullets????
I don't believe that Driver ever was angry with our hero- Cusack walks in after TEN years and she slaps him once 90 minutes into the flick???
And my personal favourite- the Estate Agent friend, who hasn't seen Cusack in a decade, finds him sitting next to dead body and helps him stuff the corpse in the school furnace not uttering one word. I don't believe these people. And as for the last ten minutes- I think the writers just said "Nuts we gotta do something" and just let there fingers hit the keyboard without letting there brains get in the way.
But I still give it a good 7/10; and most of that it the performances. Something about Driver & Cusack is believable, like they were really good friends off camera. I don't know what it was but two very good things do stand out- the Soundtrack was brilliant; and for the first time since I've seen her I didn't want to switch over when Joan Cusack was on screen (something of a minor miracle on my part).
In closing; watch the film, you'll enjoy it but when you watch it again- You May Wonder Why...