Rating: 
Summary: Omigod, you've gotta see this one...
Review: Superb. Grace (Brenda Blethyn) is widowed and instead of finding her comfortable country life insured, discovers she's been left with a huge debt that threatens her ability to retain the family home. Then she finds that her charming gardener has been growing a few marijuana plants on her property, and they're looking a little sickly. He hesitantly comes to her for green thumb advice - and she sees a way out of her debt. The rest? Well, I'm sorry: you'll just have to see the movie. But suffice it to say that you won't regret it. It's a hoot and a half and all's well that end's well. The scene where a group of 'ladies to do tea' get inadvertently stoned when the wrong leaves are used for the afternoon brew - it's worth seeing all by itself. Fun, funny, sweet, and silly - and utterly charming.
Five stars.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully Funny
Review: What is a widow to do when her husband dies leaving her in debt and losing everything? This is the question at the beginning of the movie when we meet Grace, who is steadily having things reposessed from her manor house and having to lay off her workers. She, a prize winning orchid grower, has nothing to fall back on and nowhere to turn. Her gardener, a nice young man in a shaky relationship, turns to her for her expertise in helping a small plant he has been trying to grow under cover behind the parish. Grace may seem naive but she snaps immediately on the fact that this is a marijuana plant. But it is a plant and her heart goes out for it. As she nurses it back to health in her greenhouse she begins to realize its value to her and the gardener realizes her ability with the plants and a plan is hatched. This is a truly funny movie with realistic seeming characters "thinking outside of the box". The whole township is endearing as they try to support Grace through her difficult times and some hilarious things ensue.
Rating:
Summary: the way comedies should be made
Review: Saving Grace is a superb film, which manages to be graceful and witty, both high-brow and low. Craig Ferguson has a real feel for heart-warming, triumphant stories that never go over the edge into schlock (which is easy when so much heart is involved). He shines and (as always) Brenda Blethyn should be locked up and put on display in the Tower of London as a National treasure.
Rating: 
Summary: Brenda Blethyn is Very Appealing
Review: Brenda Blethyn is very funny in this comedy about a recently widowed woman that gets involved in the drug trade. Blethyn is backed by a well-cast array of supporting players. However, the story takes a little while to get going. Also, the ending is a bit contrived. Overall, SAVING GRACE is a light, but very enjoyable film. The writing of this British film is a bit sharper than what you would expect to find in the States. It is definitely worth a look.
Rating: 
Summary: Grace saved herself
Review: Firstly about this ancient marihuana legalization issue. I can only say that I've seen some people starting with marihuana and ending up on heroin
(and then couple of them ended up existing). On the other hand, I'm not so sure - they would probably end up the same way even without trying
marihuana in the first place... Also, I know some people (not many, addmitingly) who don't need drugs (or alcohol) to get high. They're craziest
(and funniest) when they're clean (and sober). Therefore, do you REALLY need chemical fuel to get you off the ground? Anyway, the movie is a
relaxed, easy going comedy. Typically and refreshingly British. With some really beautiful shots of North England (or Scotland?) coast and some
romantic scenes of colorful living in a sleepy fishermen village. It was good to see Brenda Blethyn in a good form, she carries the movie on her
shoulders. Also liked the gardener's girlfriend character (Valerie Edmond). There's the proof that a woman can look good even in a dirty
fisherman working outfit.
Rating:
Summary: What a Find!
Review: I'm not sure what I was expecting when I rented this DVD, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. It has everything - a love interest, intrigue, poignancy, and humor. It is a well-acted tale of a widow about to be evicted from her home and who has no salable skills. She joins forces with her gardner and comes up with a scheme to fix her financial woes. On the way to the end of the film there are a number of twists and turns. It was also nice to see a town come together to support its own.
Rating:
Summary: simply a great comedy.
Review: this film entertains, and at the same time brings to light some interesting questions regarding who the "criminals" are in the fight against marijuana legalization. but, for those who don't wish to delve too deeply into the messages of this film, it is a wonderful comedy with some great moments. far more intelligent than "cheech and chong" movies that it's compared to. definitely worth the time to watch, and thoroughly entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Good Plot -- Wonderful Comedy for the first hour
Review: Yes there is a classic scene in this great plot movie where a good traditional fancy for tea in that British manner gets a rip-roaring suprise! Amazon editorial was quite generous in stating that the end of the movie was over the top. Fact of the matter is, the end was not original at all, I could not remember where I had seen that scene before, but it had been done before. As a matter of fact while searching for a new movie on Amazon, I crossed an old Mel Brooks film I had seen, "History of the World part one", that shed light on my recollection. A pity, the comedy had its own legs to stand on for the most of it.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable and light hearted
Review: We got to discussing favorite movies at work recently, and Vicki, one of the nurses I work with in the recovery room, said she'd seen Saving Grace and had really loved it. She gave me a short recap of the film, and I decided it was worth a couple of hours of time and bought it. Normally I'm the type of movie goer who labors ad infinitum over the implications of each character's actions, and certainly the underlying drug theme might well have brought out that tendency with a vengeance, but in viewing Saving Grace, I was so beguiled by the charm of the village and it's delightful residents that I was able to suspend criticality and just enjoy my "visit." The venue of the story is a colorful coastal village in England. Though a little bleak, the surrounding country side is open and green, with wonderful vistas of the sea, and the village is a cluster of quaint, old, stone buildings along narrow, little streets. The title character, Grace, is the lady of the local manor and presides graciously over the social activities of her neighborhood. Her home is a gorgeous vine covered house in the midst of well kept grounds, a home she loves and which she is unknowingly about to lose due to the capricious financial habits of her philandering and recently deceased spouse. The story turns on Grace's outrageous plans to save her home and the naivety with which she pursues them, assisted or at least abetted by an assortment of delightful neighbors including her gardener, her doctor and even her husband's former mistress. Grace is played with great skill by Brenda Blethyn. She's pretty and perky and just at "that age" where a women who had been financially independent for most of her life might find it difficult to start anew. Even as she starts on her "life of crime"-"I'm going to be a drugs dealer!"--one can't help but cheer her on for her audacity, just as most of her neighbors come to do. Beset by collection notices with every post, the intrusion of an assessor who arrives as her door to evaluate her house for auction, and phone calls from a persistent London creditor, Grace takes the bull by the horns and bursts-or more properly blunders--onto the drug scene. Craig Ferguson as her Scottish gardener Matthew, is the perfect instigator, naive enough himself to be funny but opportunist enough to see their approach to saving the manor as viable. Even though my husband and I are frequently at odds with respect to our film preferences, we both enjoyed this movie. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and light hearted way to spend an evening.
Rating:
Summary: How to Save Your Home
Review: Craig Ferguson, one of the stars and co-writers of Saving Grace, recently made some interesting comments about critics and comedies. He claimed that the most scathing reviews were reserved for comedies. His feeling was that, when a reviewer found a comedy to be particularly unfunny, he or she tended to write an opinion which implied that those who did find it amusing were intellectually inferior to the writer. I think his point is well taken, although his comments may have been directed as much towards the TV series The Drew Carey Show, on which he is a regular, as they were to Saving Grace. Whatever the case, the movie, while not breaking new ground, is a winner. Grace Trevethyn's [Brenda Blethyn] troubles are only just beginning when her husband falls to his death. It seems he has left her high and dry, with no money and a huge mortgage on their house. Grace has never paid attention to the business side of life, preferring to devote her time to the cultivating of orchids in her greenhouse. She has no idea what to do about her situation. It is her gardener, Matthew [Craig Ferguson], who inadvertently shows her a possible solution to her plight. He asks her to figure out what's wrong with some plants he is growing secretly behind the local vicar's house. She quickly recognized them as marijuana, but, seeing herself as a sort of plant doctor, she has Matthew bring them to her greenhouse, where they make a miraculous recovery. After Matthew tells her the street value of the pot, Grace decides they can make enough money for her to save her home. Naturally, such a plan is full of pitfalls. This is a typically British comedy. The setting is a quaint village in Cornwall. It's populated by delightful eccentrics who usually turn a blind eye to certain goings on that might just be a tad illegal. Cornwall, by the way, has a checkered past, having in the past been the smuggling capital of the British Isles. Looking the other way is a tradition there. Brenda Blethyn is a joy as Grace. Her matronly appearance is counterbalanced by a quick wit and a devilish glint in her eyes. Hers is a character many of us can relate to. Grace lives a peaceful, normal life, except when her back is against the wall. Then she does whatever must be done. Craig Ferguson plays Matthew as a man who is almost, but not quite, ready to become a responsible adult. His is another character many can feel at home with. Also notable are Jamie Foreman as Matthew's down to earth girlfriend, and Tceky Karyo as Jacques, the real drug dealer Grace finds in London. Saving Grace is actually a rather old-fashioned movie, which is the source of much of its charm. After all, the very public debate over marijuana usage has been going on and on and on for over thirty years now. The subject matter can hardly be considered shocking.
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