Rating: Summary: great Review: this movie is the sweetest movie ever. i laughed also so thats a plus.everyone should see this movie. you'll enjoy it.
Rating: Summary: a waste of time, money and acting talent! Review: UNCONDITONAL LOVE will for me be remembered as PJ Hogan's worst movie he will have directed in his career. He obviously didn't take any cues from his previous comedy efforts, MURIEL'S WEDDING and MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING. I won't waste too many words describing my disappointment in seeing the tremendous acting talents of Kathy Bates go to complete waste. Rupert Everett is miscast as the widower left behind by Jonathan Pryce's character. Jonathan Pryce as a matinee singing idol? No thanks--save him for drama not another comedy. Dan Ackroyd is seen seldom, but he probably couldn't save the crummy screenplay anyway!Someone else mentioned the trailer they saw made the film look dreadful, but they were suprised they enjoyed it. I had the opposite experience: I picked it up at a local video store as a rental, thinking the box's ad copy made it seem likeable and funny. Boy, was I wrong! Just goes to show you really can't judge a movie by its coverbox.
Rating: Summary: Lovely Underrated Film Review: Watch this film, I accidently came across it at a local DVD rental store. Watched it and was very surprised at the gem I found. Loved it and I had recently met Kathy Bates and wished I had seen this first before meeting her. I would have told her how much I enjoyed it. It has virtually been dropped by the studio who made it and it really deserved better. Its just great. Rent or buy this film.
Rating: Summary: CANT SMILE WITHOUT YOU Review: What can one say about a movie that features Julie Andrews singing GETTING TO KNOW YOU on a turbulent-ridden plane AND at the funeral of a worldwide singing sensation? AND Barry Manilow joining the cast for the finale's showstopper? It may all seem mushy, maudlin and over the top, and it is! But this little gem is a delightfully entertaining movie, full of smashingly good performances. Oscar winner Kathy Bates shines as Grace Beasley, a housewife with a dream of becoming a singer, a husband who leaves her after 25 years and a trip to England for the funeral of her murdered singing idol, Victor Fox. Bates hits all the right notes and is utterly charming. Rupert Everett as the singer's unknown lover is at first all brutish and loutish, but once we learn a little more about him, he becomes the film's ironic hero. Everett is very good in this role. Dan Aykroyd plays Bates' husband with all the timidity and self-serving bravado that explains the lack of adventure in their lives. Jack Noseworthy, a very underrated young actor, portrays their son, who has also left his wife (we'll get to her later!). Peter Skaasgard (Shattered Glass) plays the window washer with a secret. His youthful innocence is appropriately fitting. Lynn Redgrave and Stephanie Beacham are remarkable as Victor's obnoxious and grabbing sisters. Their scenes are few, but they are brilliant!! Jonathan Pryce (who got his start in Miss Saigon) is wonderful as the Tom Jones/Elvis Presley clone, whose murder leads Bates and Everett to find his killer--the Crossbow Killer. The movie belongs, however, to the delightful Meredith Eaton, who plays Bates' daughter-in-law. Eaton is a dwarf (really) and she has a beautiful face and is so full of energy and oomph she lights up the screen. Her take off on the red-raincoated dwarf from 'DOn't Look Now" is absolutely hilarious. I hope we see more of Ms. Eaton in the future---she is brilliant! This movie is a pleasant surprise, and is outrageously entertaining.
Rating: Summary: Not for everyone, but was AWESOME for me!!! Review: When your world is made up of dreams, it's hard to let them go when the reality of the situation becomes evident. Kathy Bates plays Grace Beasley, a bored housewife married to a boring man (Dan Aykroyd). When her favorite singer, Victor Fox, comes to town to perform, Grace wins a ticket to see him live. At that moment, however, her insensitive husband decides to tell her he's leaving her. Later that same day, her idol is murdered right down the street and on a whim she decides to go to England for his funeral. Upon arrival, she meets some critical members of his family, plus his (gasp!) lover of ten years, a young man named Dirk (Rupert Everett, being gay yet again). With Dirk's help, Grace attempts to find out who killed Victor and a series of strange events then begin which will threaten their very lives. Kathy Bates is sensational as Grace, playing the well-kept but downtrodden housewife, and brings her unique flair and individuality to the role. It seems she can play anyone perfectly, and it is this talent that truly brings this film to life. She and Everett work well together as the two conspirators - Grace with her limited experience, but enthusiastic approach and Dirk with his guarded cynicism and brooding intellect. It's a universal story, that of love lost, dreams dashed and retribution meted out, but it works well here and does have an unusual take on the usual approach. There is singing all through this film; we can barely watch for five minutes without someone bursting into song or a Jonathan Pryce number being belted out over the action, however, it isn't a musical. It is, though, a film about the price of fame, the cost of dreams and the effects both can have on human beings in a given situation. It does contain some genuine laughs and is billed as a comedy, yet I couldn't help but detect the ironic note of sadness hidden behind the layers. Still, it's a film I found myself interested in more and more as it progressed. Not a dark comedy, and not strictly a murder mystery, it's a film that defies conventional boundaries of genre, which certainly runs with the theme of the entire movie. This film really took me by surprise. I didn't quite know what to expect, but I didn't expect as good a film as the one I got. With some superlative performances by the cast and some touchy social issues dealt with and handled well, Unconditional Love is a fun film with a nice message. That message may be lost on some folks, but that's okay, because the film doesn't seem to be trying to make a point, rather that was just something that came across on its own. Bottom line is this is an entertaining and colorful movie that is easily watched from the beginning to the end.
Rating: Summary: Great Movie Review: Why this movie didn't make it to theaters is beyond me. It's great entertainment with super characters and an original storyline. And Kathy Bates is her usual outstanding self. Great story, great fun. I find myself smiling whenever I tell others about it.
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