Led astray once again

Browsing around the audio book shelves in the local library, a work by a new (to me) author, Katie Fforde, caught my eye. I quickly read the overview of the story on the back of the container for Stately Pursuits and it sounded promising: "look after a relative's stately home," "dilapidated house," "quirky, ever-present neighbors," "absurdities of every day life," and "wit and charm" were some of the phrases used to describe it. The story was also set in the English countryside, so it sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately, somehow I missed the fact that this is a romance novel {shudder}. Now, I have read some decent romance novels in my time (I used to be quite taken with Kathleen Woodiwiss), but this one is just dreadful. It has the requisite brooding hero, but unfortunately he is given to such eye-rolling, cringe-inducing dialogue as, "I promised my Uncle Samuel that I wouldn't seduce you." The heroine, Hattie, is a sympathetic enough character, but as she is generally described as wearing "filthy" jeans and "grubby" t-shirts, it's a bit puzzling as to what is supposed to make her romance heroine material. I did persist throughout the whole book, hoping it would improve, but it was predictable, bland, and (despite the blurb on the back) not at all funny. Give this one a miss and pick up something by Sophie Kinsella or Marian Keyes instead. Now they can write "romantic comedy!"

In Entertainment Weekly's list of the top 20 films of the week, inexplicably they noted about the film Happy-Go-Lucky, "This quirky dramedy from British director Mike Leigh finally made its way onto the chart after seven weeks in theaters." I highlighted the "finally" because that makes it sound as if everyone is puzzled as to why such a masterpiece has struggled at the box office. Um, could it be because it's one of the worst, most pointless films ever made? We should be asking ourselves instead how the theaters showing it avoided riots in the streets. EW somehow gave this film a grade of A-. A relative of someone in the cast must have been the reviewer -- or else the reviewer didn't actually sit through the film. Those are the only possible explanations for an even lukewarm review, let alone a positive one.

Also in EW this week, Stephen King gives his Top 10 books of the year, and coming in at #3 is When Will There Be Good News? Well, I'm not sure if I would have listed it as one of the top books of the year, but it's nice to know that Uncle Stevie and I share similar tastes in leisure reading material.

Final Verdict for Stately Pursuits: One Gherkin, for some interesting plot ideas (such as opening a stately home to the public), but an overall weak story

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It's hard to be happy . . .

. . . when you're forced to watch such dreck. I had great hopes for the film Happy Go Lucky, which is set in London and promised to be an uplifting and inspirational look at modern life. Sally Hawkins plays Poppy, a young primary school teacher in London who always looks on the bright side of life. She laughs, giggles, and smiles at everything. And I mean everything. Her bike gets stolen? No problem, she'll just sign up for driving lessons. She hurts her back on the trampoline? What fun! We can go visit the physiotherapist (where she wears a pink bra, orange thong and lacy pantyhose, as we all attire ourselves for medical treatment).


Being relentlessly cheerful isn't a liability in itself, but the execution of it is where the problem lies. There are great, long stretches when nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, is happening on screen except Poppy giggling and looking insanely cheerful. She comes across not as someone who is relentlessly merry, but as someone who is perpetually on drugs. She is constantly doubled over with laughter and flapping her hands about -- so much so that it is difficult to understand what she is supposed to be saying when she is speaking. The other characters in the film, some of which are suppose to be grouches and killjoys, come of as "normal" people shocked and a little horrified by this clearly deranged creature in front of them.


The theater where I saw the film was not crowded, but as the minutes ticked off, people began to leave. I held out for about 40 minutes before I also had to admit defeat. I didn't, however, march myself to the box office and demand my money back, as I overhead other people doing as I left.


Although this film is getting good reviews and ratings everywhere, I don't understand how anyone was able to stand to sit through it. Awful.


Final Verdict for Happy Go Lucky: No Gherkins, for an annoying, unintelligible lead character, nonexistent action, and barely any London scenery

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