Rowen Atkinson gets top billing in this odd little black comedy about a woman who finds it easier to kill off annoying people than to put up with them. The story is set in the British village of Little Wallop, population 56, or something of that nature. Curiously, the town has a fairly large school and good group of bullies for so small a population. But that is really beside the point.
We start off on a train in 1960 or so. A seemingly nice young woman is on holiday. We get a shot of her trunk in the baggage car. A nice old fashioned steamer trunk, that seems to be seaming blood across the floor.
The nice young lady has killed her husband and his lover, as you shouldn’t be expected to put up with things like that. She is committed to a mental hospital until such time as she is found fit to out among her fellow man again. Oh, by the way, did I mention that she is pregnant?
We now flash forward 43 years or so. We find Rowen Atkinson as a boring Vicker, his wife overwhelmed and unhappy, his teenage daughter is having sex in a van and his grade school age son is the constant victim of bullies. A large wooden steamer trunk shows up one day, the very same truck from the opening of the film. It’s a classic movie family in need of a visit from Mary Poppins, or maybe someone a little less nice than Ms. Poppins.
Enter Maggie Smith, best known these days as being one of Harry Potters many instructors. She seems a nice enough lady and she smiles rather a lot. Things start to change when a neighbors dog that constantly barks, disappears. Then the neighbor disappears. Both disappearances make the world a better place by the way. When the new housekeeper, Maggie, finds out that the Vicker’s wife is planning on leaving with hansom American Patrick Swayze, well, it doesn’t take a crystal ball to see what lies in his future.
The housekeeper is the long lost mother of the Vicker’s wife. And within a few days of her arrival, all is right with the world. At least for the Vicker’s family. It is not so right for the school bullies, the neighbors, or adulterous Americans.
There are several very funny bits in this film. But overall I think it is a bit too British for the average American viewer. I am a huge fan of most British Comedies and try to keep up to date with the current BBC sci fi shows. Even I had trouble with some of the drier bits of humor here.
Rowen Atkinson is a pretty interesting actor, but he doesn’t get to do much in this film. He has none of the brilliant wit of the Black Adder series and none of the buffoonery of Mr Bean. He plays the part straight for the most part, and that is really not his strong suit. Patrick Swayze is the biggest surprise here, as he is well past his boy toy sell-by-date and seems an odd choice for the macho man womanizer role. Maggie Smith is great as the cold blooded killer and sweet little grandmother wrapped up in one.
It’s a fun and odd little movie. I liked it.
For a bit more depth on the subject, look here. For someone that didn’t like it, read here.
