Themes: Unlikely Criminals, Drug Trade, Death of a Partner
Main Cast: Brenda Blethyn, Craig Ferguson, Martin Clunes, Tchéky Karyo, Jamie Forman
Release Year: 2000
Country: UK
Run Time: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Waking Ned Divine (1998) meets Up in Smoke (1978) in this wacky British comedy about growing marijuana. Grace Trevethan (Brenda Blethyn is a cheerful upper-class housewife and gardening enthusiast who is blithefully unaware of business matters. This all changes when she learns that her husband fell from an airplane without a parachute. Her husband's numerous hare-brained schemes at getting rich quick left their accounts in utter ruin. Worse, if she does not raise 300,000 pounds quickly, she might lose her manor. Out of sheer desperation, she turns to her oddball Scottish gardener Matthew (Craig Ferguson), who suggests growing pot. Grace puts her green thumb to work, and in the blink of an eye the greenhouse is converted into the biggest marijuana farm in Cornwall. Soon, word gets out to the not unsympathetic townspeople, including the local doctor -- who is somewhat of a pot enthusiast -- and a horror flick-loving Vicar. Unfortunately, a nervy French drug lord (Tcheky Karyo) also learns of their scheme and soon starts causing trouble. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Review
The second film from writer and star Craig Ferguson, this comedy was a modest worldwide success at the box office, joining other such recent imports as The Full Monty (1997) and Waking Ned Devine (1998) in creating a vibrant new international market for British films. Brenda Blethyn gives a typically adroit performance as the film's central character, playing the part with a requisite combination of gritty determination and blissful naïveté, opposing qualities that the actress engenders with great skill. Ferguson expands his range with a gentle, kindhearted role that's probably a revelation to U.S. audiences aware of him only as the duplicitous boss in the popular television sitcom The Drew Carey Show. While the rest of the cast is filled with British character actors hired too predictably by type, Saving Grace is a mostly effective, surprisingly warm film that would easily be suitable for children were it not for its central preoccupation with illicit substances. The script's finale disappoints, however, with a too-quick wrap-up that feels artificial, forced, and rushed. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Unexpectedly widowed, prim and proper housewife Grace Trevethyn finds herself in dire financial straits when she inherits massive debts her late husband had been accruing for years. Faced with losing her house, she decides to use her talent for horticulture and hatches a plan to grow potent marijuana which can be sold at an astronomical price, thus solving her financial crisis. Grace and her gardener's efforts to hide their illegal enterprise from the quaint and curious townsfolk and market their product comprise the remainder of the film.
Cast
Brenda Blethyn as Grace Trevethyn, a middle-aged newly widowed woman who is faced with the prospect of financial ruin and turns to growing marijuana under the tutelage of her gardener in order to save her family home. Blethyn, who was Ferguson's first choice, signed on the movie for two years before shooting.[3]
Craig Ferguson as Matthew Stewart, Grace's gardener. Ferguson created the playful character with himself in mind. "I saw him as a decent chap who happens to like a bit of marijuana," Ferguson said. "He really cares about Grace and he wants to save her."[4]
Martin Clunes as Dr. Martin Bamford, a friend of Matthew. Clunes' character was spun-off into a pair of "prequel" films focusing on how he ended up in Cornwall, and later reworked into the ITV television series Doc Martin, which states in its ending credits that the character was derived from the film Saving Grace.
Valerie Edmond as Nicky, Matthew's frowning girlfriend. Edmond won the role of the village's fishing captain in a large open casting call.[4]
The film was released on May 19, 2000 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it grossed £3,000,000 during its theatrical run.[5] Although it took a tenth of simultaneously-released Gladiator's box office haul only, Saving Grace was, however, considered a "good showing" in consideration of the film's low budget.[5]
In the United States the film opened on August 4, 2000, where it soon emerged as a small box-office surprise during the slow-seasoned summer.[5] Having originally opened at 30 screens,[5] it was eventually showing on more than 870 theatres (Fine Line had only planned to open it across 200 screens) during its most successful weeks in early September 2000, when Saving Grace averaged takings of $3,351 per theatre - more than hits like X-Men and Hollow Man.[1][5] It eventually grossed £12,178,600 overseas.[1]
Critical reaction
The critical reception of the film was fairly positive, with Rotten Tomatoes giving the film a 62% Fresh approval,[6] and the review scores aggregate website Metacritic giving it a 62/100 rating.[7] Jonathan Crow from Allmovie gave the film three out of five stars, calling it "wacky British comedy" with a "Waking Ned Divine (1998) meets Up in Smoke (1978)" effect.[8]Roger Ebert gave the film a "two thumbs up" rating,[9] stating that "the setup of Saving Grace is fun, and Blethyn helps by being not just a helpless innocent but a smart woman who depended too much on her husband and now quickly learns to cope."[9] However, he criticized the film for its "more or less routine" ending: "We're left with a promising idea for a comedy, which arrives at some laughs but never finds its destination."[9] Dana Stevens from The New York Times called the film "this summer's bait for the Anglophiles," meaning "that they're English and elderly apparently makes their antics screamingly funny to people who would turn up their noses at similar humor in a film like Scary Movie."[10]
Empire Award: "Best British Actress" - Brenda Blethyn
Golden Globe: "Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical" - Brenda Blethyn
Golden Satellite Award: "Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical" - Brenda Blethyn
Spin-offs
Martin Clunes starred in two television filmprequels to this film, made by BSkyB: Doc Martin and Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie, in which viewers learn that Bamford, a successful obstetrician, finds that his wife has been carrying on extramarital affairs behind his back with his three best friends. After confronting her with the news, he decides to leave London and heads for Cornwall, which he remembers fondly from his youth. Shortly after he arrives, he gets involved in the mystery of the "Jellymaker" and, following the departure of the village's resident GP, decides to stay in Port Isaac and fill the gap himself.
Clunes' company tried selling the franchise to ITV who generally liked it, but felt the character of Martin Bamford needed a little something more to him than just being a "townie" who is a little out of his depth in the country. ITV wanted something a little more edgy, so Clunes came up with the idea of the doctor being unusually grumpy. Out of that idea a new series, also called Doc Martin was born. This series is nowadays still a huge success in the UK and the end titles mention that it is "derived from Saving Grace" too.
