Tony Heck
"We have one month to convince our good doctor to sign long term." The town of Tickle Cove is starting to collapse economically. The residents are living on welfare checks and watching everyone they love move into the big city. When they have a chance to secure a contract for a factory for the town they need to do whatever they can. The first thing they need is a doctor. Dr. Lewis (Kitsch) comes to the harbor for a month and local local mayor Murray French (Gleeson) enlists the help of the town to do anything that will make him stay. I have liked pretty much anything that Brendan Gleeson has done. This one is no exception. One of the biggest pet peeves I have about movies is when they're too predictable. Almost from the beginning you are able to tell what will happen and how the movie will end. This is one of the few exceptions where that doesn't hurt the enjoyment of the movie. The writing and comedy is what keeps you watching and laughing the whole way through. It's very entertaining watching the lengths the towns people go to to impress the doctor. The stuff with cricket is my favorite. This is a movie that may not be for everyone but I liked it and I recommend it. Overall, a movie that is very predictable but for once that doesn't hurt the movie. I recommend this but again it's not really for everyone. I give it a B+.
kosmasp
As the title suggests the movie might seduce you. It might sort of trick you into liking it. Why trick you? Because you could easily depict the movie and the story it tries to tell you. It would be very easy in fact. But it's not only the actors (Brendan Gleeson heading the group as "leader"), but also the way the story is portrayed.You will know where this is going, so if you don't like predictable movies, you might want to stay away from this. But you'd be missing on a feel good movie, that really has a lot of heart. Taylor Kitsch might have done some movies that weren't successful and you might not think of him much, but he's doing a good job in this. He's convincing and carries the movie with the others through the finish line ... or whatever equivalent there is in the game he likes ...
intelearts
The Grand Seduction absolutely seduced us - it's acerbic, charming, and genuinely funny - and definitely one of the comedies of the year. It has enough cliché and enough originality to feel comfortable but also a measure of unpredictability. The story of the little harbor village that needs a doctor to get jobs is nicely judged throughout.It stands in good stead with 1950s comedies from the UK. This is a film built on performances, particularly Gleason who seems almost lazy but really gives gravitas to the film. Its issue of how and where to find dignity where your community is dying is a great one, and the film is filled with little vignettes and moments of both hilarity and the right dose of sentimentality.This is one I would genuinely recommend - it is heartfelt, warm, genuine, honest, and both really funny and really fun.
rbridge333
Just a few comments: I may have missed it, but I swear I didn't hear the word "Newfoundland" (or Canada?) once in the whole film. The constant references to Newfoundland in the reviews etc., couldn't have come from anyone but Canadians: geography-deprived US audiences could have easily mistaken the setting for coastal Maine or New Brunswick, England, Ireland, Scotland or wherever. In a similar vein, keep in mind that the accents of Newfies, Irish, cockneys, Scots and Aussies are all just one big blurry brogue to the average US movie and TV viewer-- just "funny English accents". And therefore, not really geography-specific.Also, I would have thought that Pinsent and company would have corrected Gleeson's US-style pronunciations at times, such as his use of the word "prawject" for "project" (Canadians universally say "proh-ject"). Also, in references to the "town" of "SAINT Johns" it should have been pronounced "S'n' JOHNS" (emphasis on "Johns") not to be mistaken for the "town" of SAINT John in New Brunswick (emphasis on "SAINT").But a fine movie. A little more geographic specificity, and more attention to language issues for our US audiences would have been nice. Good for sales, too.BB
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