Current Reviews

The Accidental Husband (2008)

Director - Griffin Dunne

Starring -

Uma Thurman, Colin Firth, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sam Shepard, Isabella Rossellini, Lindsay Sloane, Justina Machado, Keir Dullea

USA Cert - PG-13

UK Cert - PG

Duration - 91 Mins

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Uma Thurman used to have a great movie career; after breaking through with a wonderfully sexy and understated performance in Stephen Frear’s ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ in 1988, she then cleverly moved into indie territory with smaller, idiosyncratic films before she rode the zeitgeist in Pulp Fiction in 1994 and sealed her immortality forever as a cinema poster icon. ‘Kill Bill’ predictably followed via the Tarantino love-in and then came the slump and what a slump – ‘Be Cool’, ‘The Producers’ and ‘My Super Ex-Girlfriend’ – howlers, each and every one.

For her latest effort, Uma stays on the rom-com conveyor belt, in a film that is almost to the letter a classic example of a rom-com template that ticks off all of the clichéd elements from that genre. Woman married to a nice, but boring guy – tick, woman has a great career that needs to be derailed to show her that love is more important – tick, woman meets random but exciting free-spirit type with a quirky outlook on life - tick, woman initially dislikes free spirit but after some highly dubious coincidences that put them together, woman falls for free spirit – tick, woman and free spirit fall out over free spirits free spirit – tick, woman has change of heart at the big wedding finale – tick, oh and finally, all the ‘gags’ are either of the prat-fall variety or banging your head under a desk type – tick.

Uma is Dr Emma Lloyd, a relationship expert dispensing love wisdom across the radio airwaves as a highly paid DJ. Emma is engaged to marry publishing magnate Richard Bratton, played by Colin Firth, in full-on ‘magnolia mode’ – if he looked anymore bored he would be a stiff. In the course of her daily job, Emma informs Sofia, (‘Six Feet Under’s’ Justine Machado) that she is better off without her hunky fireman fiancé, Patrick Sullivan, played with some charm by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. From what we are shown here, Sofia wasn’t happy with Patrick’s football prowess (soccer for our American friends, who wont actually see this film till Summer 2008). No other explanation about Sofia’s misgivings towards Patrick are given other than seeing Justine wistfully observing him playing football with his beery team-mates. The film then jumps the shark very early on by trying to make us believe that Patrick and his chums were listening to Emma’s relationship advice radio show on the way back from their match in the car – yeah right. To get even on Emma, Patrick asks a young computer wiz to hack into a government website and make them married on a database– why he wanted to do this bizarre thing is never really explained. There is also a stereotypical Indian family who run a ‘Samosa’ cafe and party into the streets with colourful costumes and music, all that was missing was an elephant in the back yard and a python rising out of a basket. Anyway, Emma comes looking for the man she is now ‘married’ too, after discovering her new spouse’s details at a civic office visit, with a blank faced Firth looking like he wants to be with Bridget Jones. When Emma and Patrick eventually meet, every script device possible is put into play to keep them together, as they bicker, flirt and do doe eyes towards the inevitable falling out and big decision. Sam Shepherd wanders in as a dull sub-plot involving Emma’s dad and Isabella Rossellini is thoroughly wasted as a corporate wife.

There are many people who will find some comfort (and possibly pleasure) from seeing all of the expected rom-com buttons pressed here. It’s a cast iron genre that rarely strays from convention, but just now and then you can’t help but wish for a new twist or fresh direction. But originality and freshness is sadly not what modern rom-coms are all about. It never used to be this way, back in the 40’s and 50’s, happy endings invariably always happened, but the route that was taken to get there was always much more original and exciting than what we are dished up with these days. Thurman deserves better and despite the slight script, still manages to exude star quality; poor Firth looks destined to be in these things till his dying days. Jeffrey Dean Morgan shows some promise and with the right choices might carve himself out an interesting movie career, one or two more of these though and he could find himself being the American Hugh Grant with an added bit of rough. If you want to play the rom-com tick box game, you might actually have a bit of fun with this, everybody else will either have to have a very short memory or are very easily pleased; regardless, we the public and the rom-com genre deserve better.

David Whelan