blanche-2
"The Search for John Gissing" is a 2001 comedy starring Mike Binder, Janeane Garofalo, and Alan Rickman.Matthew Barnes and his wife Linda come to London, where Matthew is going to oversee a merger of a British company with the Germans. The man who has rented a house for them and is going to pick them up at the airport is one John Gissing (Rickman) who doesn't show up at the airport. They reach him, and he apologizes, and sends them to a hotel where he has a room reserved for them. The room turns out to be for someone else, and the Barnes' can't get a room because Gissing maxed out their credit cards when he rented them a house. The couple winds up staying with a nun who, while Linda is in the shower, makes a pass at Matthew.It doesn't take Barnes long to figure out that John Gissing is out to destroy him. It turns out that Gissing was passed over for this assignment and feels threatened. Barnes turns the tables on him.Lots of this film is very funny, with a crackerjack performance by Rickman, who is hilarious. Mike Binder is possibly a devotee of Woody Allen - this is Binder's film, and it's not dissimilar to an Allen film, nor are his line readings. Janeane Garofalo as his discouraged wife is very good.This film didn't get a general release, apparently. It's hard to understand why since it is at least a cut above some of the dreck that passes for comedy today. I suspect if Ben Stiller had made it, the film wouldn't have had that problem.
treeline1
Matthew Barnes (Mike Binder) and his wife (Janeane Garofalo) have just arrived in London, where he is to finalize an important merger for his company, but from the moment they step off the plane, everything goes wrong. John Gissing (Alan Rickman), his company contact, was supposed to arrange a driver, a suite, and a bank account, but none of it has materialized and Gissing himself is missing. The only one who wants to help is a very pretty and unusual nun.The first half of this movie is laugh-out-loud funny with madcap misadventures and a bit of a mystery as well. Writer/director/star Binder is quite likable as the Everyman/Underdog hero, but he looks and acts so much like Ben Stiller than I kept wishing they'd just hired Stiller instead. Garofalo is her usual wise-cracking persona and is very funny. Alan Rickman isn't on-screen nearly enough, but his scenes are the best.The second half bogs down into an endless discussion of Matthew's Merger/Acquisition/Big Deal and I found it confusing and tedious. This is supposed to be an office farce about jealousy and climbing the corporate ladder at all costs, but the last hour was dull and relied too much on silly slapstick humor.Recommended if you're an Alan Rickman fan or have nothing better to watch.
Philip Anderson
This film is HILARIOUS!!! One of the funniest comedies I have seen in a long, long time. Director/screenwriter Mike Binder has created a masterpiece with this film. Starring Mike Binder in the lead role as Matthew, the fumbling corporate lackey sent to England to relocate with his wife, a splendid Janeane Garofalo, the comedy of errors does not stop for this poor man. Alan Rickman stars as John Gissing, the sabotaging company man who is about to be ousted by the very person he is to train to replace him - and thus makes every attempt to sidetrack Matthew. Not since "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" has there been this many natural comedic outlays. The story, the characters, the interactions - it all works, and very well. Brilliant! A must see!!
movieguy-23
I loved this film. Saw it at SXSW Film Festival in Austin. Rickman, Garofalo and Binder were terrific. The film moves fast and has a great style to it. I hope this very funny film finds a good distributor. Should be the next "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".
AD
