bcheng93 i went into this movie not knowing what to expect, but i like Maggie Smith and Kirsten Scott Thomas, and i am aware that Rowan Atkinson is one of England's top comedic actors. i am also a huge fan of British black comedies, no one does it better.first off i like to say that Rowan Atkinson did a fine job playing the straight man instead of his usual, Kirsten Scott Thomas was her usual self, solid and dependable if not great actress...but the revelation in this movie is Maggie Smith. i can't think of another actress who could've pull this off. the role was made for her. Patrick Swayze in one of his final if not final role was a delight, this is the first time i believe where he isn't in his typical good guy roles.Rowan Atkinson is the head of his family, his wife Kirsten, and his two kids and he is also the vicar of his parish. underneath the surface there is a lot going on. He seems lost and his wife is lonely and having an affair, his teenage daughter is too promiscuous and his middle school son is being bullied in school. Around this time they decide to get a housekeeper and she arrives, but before she arrives a mysterious trunk belonging to her arrives first. this is the same trunk that is shown at the start of the movie belonging to the pretty young blonde who is by herself on the train...that's all i'm going to say about the movie itself, i encourage and recommend that if you read this review to watch the movie, you'll have a bloody good time. the first 2/3 of the movie was watchable and interesting, i always wanted to know what was coming next. but...it was just a little bit on the slow side and that is just my personal opinion, but it was still very watchable...and then BOOM!, just like that the last 1/3 of the movie happened. let me tell you i've never seen something that wicked or deliciously and darkly funny before. that is what movie magic is all about. everything explained itself at the end. if you are like me and felt the first 2/3 is a little slow, do not sweat it, cause the last third is awesome.i would personally give this movie a 7.5, very enjoyable movie. the Brits need to turn out more movies like this.

David Love I think this is the nearest thing I've seen in recent years to a classic Ealing comedy. And, unlike a lot of modern comedies, it did make me laugh out loud. Set in a Cornish village, the vicar (Rowen Atkinson) is the head of a dysfunctional family. His wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) is having an affair with her golf pro (Patrick Swayze), his daughter (Tamsin Egerton) is a nymphomaniac and his son (Toby Parkes) is being bullied at school. Add in an annoying parishioner played by Liz Smith and an eccentric housekeeper (Maggie Smith) and you have the main characters. You also have a very fine cast, and the raw ingredients for a great film.The opening scenes feature the lovely Emilia Fox as Rosie Jones, serial murderer, being convicted for manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. That is a key to the film, but I won't give the plot away, even though the title does do that somewhat. Kristin Scott Thomas is gorgeous and wonderful and yes I am the same age as Jeremy Clarkson (British readers will understand). Maggie Smith is amazing. And the fact that Tamsin Egerton holds her own in this company (the three women are excellent in their group scenes) is a credit to her.I loved the subtlety of most of the performances (not Swayze). Rowen Atkinson is surprisingly touching as a gentle sincere Anglican minister. But if you have seen him interviewed you will realise that his own character is much closer to this one than to Blackadder or Mr Bean. I loved the setting. I live near St Michael Penkevil, where the church and Rectory are, and that was a perfect location. The direction and pacing were very even throughout. I actually loved the treatment of the Christian aspects of the story, the biblical references and the vicar's sermons. To achieve that without being cringey was an astonishing feat by the writers.OK, some gripes. The names. Walter Goodfellow for the vicar! Lance for the pervert golf pro. Grace for the housekeeper so it fits into the vicar's sermon. Mrs Parker for the nosey old lady. Not funny and unnecessary.Swayze, actually, was annoying. I found his whole character unbelievable and not played in keeping with the rest of the cast. There was no point at all in introducing an American element in here. I know Four Weddings did it with Andie McDowell, but I found her annoying too in that film. There were plenty of British actors who would have been better and funnier than Swayze – Pierce Brosnan (I know he's not technically British) for instance.Why switch between Cornwall and the Isle of Man? Cornwall has beautiful scenery where the events could have unfolded. Newquay or Padstow for the restaurant scene, loads of golf courses. And what did the son add really? Sorry, could have done without him completely, and his bullies. A family of three would have been tighter, with the vicar very much the odd man out in the family.But overall the film was so much fun that even my grumbles only lose it one star. I'm now off to watch it again.

ingemar-4 With the average ratings this movie has, I expected little, but I found it delivering, and doing so very well. The family is really awkward to watch in the beginning, it is so totally dysfunctional, but its rebirth is convincing and moves us closer to the people - in most cases.I found the opening sequence particularly well done, where Rosie is presented with few words, more with gestures and pose, and what we see is a charming young woman with a dark secret in her trunk, and a strange attitude to it.Then this woman arrives to the dysfunctional family and saves it, in the most morbid way. The moral is hard to accept, which makes it good: Should the family just accept God's mysterious ways and take the good they get, despite knowing that much evil was done to give it to them.The weakest part of the movie is, in my opinion, the son. He is flat and simple, and the "solution" to his problems is also simplified. We never hear anyone trying to explain why four boys got their brakes sabotaged. He is never accused of it, and four boys were hurt, possibly rather badly.But that is a detail in the whole. Well shot, well played, mostly well written. It all sums up to a movie that grows increasingly beautiful, I moved from uncomfortable to entertained. It may not be for everybody, it is not a straight comedy but rather a morbid drama that will make us worried and insecure as much as laugh. You don't get Mr Bean-style slapstick from Atkinson (although I like that just as much) but much, much more subtle humor, which can be just as funny if you only notice them.

jmatrixrenegade I basically used the summary of another review since it fits the film well. This film is seriously entertaining in a British sort of way. That is, it focuses on some quirky sorts doing outrageous things that on some level is not assumed to be that big of a deal. Well, at least, by some people in the film. And, it focuses on mostly average sorts, not "the beautiful people." Finally, as a bit of an aside, it has a comfort level with sex that American films often do not (I'm reminded of a Canadian film that I just watched -- "The War Bride," which had a think nothing of it full frontal nudity scene involving a bath. It fit the times and character and was not dirty or anything. Just run of the mill adult fare.) The film concerns a kindly but absentminded vicar (Rowan Atkinson, nicely low key here) in a small British town with a cutesy name, his wife loves him but is bored with their marriage, so is planning to have an affair. The wife (Kristin Scott Thomas, notably plain looking here) is in fact apparently an orphan. She is also having problems with her children, including her oversexed daughter and picked on son. A new kindly nanny (Maggie Smith, very good too) helps out here in all respects (including showing the vicar the charms of the Songs of Solomon), but turns out to have a secret.It's amusing, wickedly so often enough, and enjoyable on a character level. You like these people (well maybe not Patrick Swayze, playing a heel -- well he is American! -- perfectly) and that is part of the charm.