New Favourites - Classic Drama

These past few days I have come down with a most dreadful cold, suffering aches and pains, various maladies of the head and throat, with added congestion and now coughs.
Therefore, I headed to my local movie rental house, in which I always seem to find treasures of entertainment and amusement of all kinds.
On these last few occasions I happened upon a quite large British Drama section housing many famous titles and proudly displaying the BBC logo. I passed over many I had already enjoyed, and in fact own, such as the BBC mini series "Pride and Prejudice", and the films of "Mansfield Park" and "Sense and Sensibility". I roamed on over the various selections and found several new mini series and films I had not yet discovered. As I was in need of some relaxing entertainment on my days off work on sick leave, I ventured forth and decided to take home a few new-to-me discs.

First I played the mini series "North and South", based on the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, and was thoroughly delighted! I hadn't even realized that I had only brought home disc 1 of 2, so on the abrupt ending of the first disc late one night, I cried out and eagerly bundled up and walked back to the store the next day to find disc 2 and finish off the tale.
For more information on this series see the brief description on the BBC website here.
The second series I delved into was another work of Gaskell's called "Wives and Daughters". Apparently this was the last novel written by the 18th century author which was left incomplete as she died before she tied all the loose ends. Having not read the novel and have nothing to compare the film to, I greatly admire the way the BBC ended this series.
See more information on the Internet Movie Database website here.

Finally, found a Jane Austin novel adaptation of "Persuasion" that I had not yet seen. This film had me enthralled by the tension, the mishaps and miscommunication. All the characters come to life in a very realistic way, more so, I think, than any other period drama I have encountered. Somehow, these families look and feel so very lifelike and plausible. I am also now in admiration of the actor Ciarán Hinds (yes, I do realize he is way too old for me!)

More information on the IMDB here.

I am now inspired and determined to find these novels and begin reading the original texts.

I highly recommend all of these films to you, if you desire a strong dose of romance, silly dysfunctional families, lovely dear friends, heart-squeezing reconciliations and throat-closing proclamations of love!!!

Music or Lyrics?

Last night I took in a late movie with a marvelous friend. The film, "Music and Lyrics" stars Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore as an unlikely duo who end up writing a hit song together.
Grant plays Alex Fletcher, a self-proclaimed Has-Been in the pop music industry who now sings at high school reunions and theme parks regaling his glory days as one of the main pair that headlined a pop music group funnily enough called "Pop". We even get to see one of their 80's hit music videos in full black and white checker and cheesy over the top thrusting dance moves the group became famous for (an coincidentally lead to many hip replacements later in life!)
As Fletcher's career is winding down and he scrambles to find a way to stay a float as a musician, a current pop star, Cora, makes it known she enjoyed some of his earlier hits as a child and offers to let him write her a brand new song in a few days and to perform it with her to kick off her new tour.
Though excited by the offer, Fletcher was always the melody composer and never god at writing lyrics. His manager finds a lyricist who seems bent on dark and dreary and while they being to work on the song in Fletcher's bachelor apartment, he finds his regular plant watering girl replaced by a substitute, the chattery and hypochondriac Sophie Fisher. Sophie begins quietly finishing their lines of lyrics with quirky but catchy phrases and suddenly Fletcher is intrigued and the hired lyricist is out and he tried to convince Sophie she can help him write this new hit song.The dynamic between Grant and Barrymore sparks fun, wit and a natural romantic chemistry. The two work well in this comedic role; Grant is no longer his foppish, blustering self but a confident and comfortable musician who breaks through somewhat of a fear barrier and Barrymore excels at her typical sprightliness but with a hint of sadness and a touch of the pathetic as her character seeks to get over a past love and dare to love again.
Two of the supporting characters are also excellent in this film. Brad Garrett ( Robert of Everybody Loves Raymond) plays the eager suck-up of a manager, and Kristen Johnston (Third Rock from the Sun) plays Sophie's older sister and a crazed fan of Fletcher and "POP".
Though this movie never completely wowed me, the story stayed amusing and the characters seemed like someone we all might know. The romance was never contrived or forced, only simple, sweet and on the non-commercial side. (For example, when Fletcher decided to push around Sophie's past guy, instead of a typical fist-fight in a restaurant, Fletcher's arms are twisted, his face ends up in the butter and somewhere in the mix is a sharp dinner roll!)
The BEST part I found is the theme of this movie - Love can be separated into two parts like Music: the Melody which represents the good feelings and the passion, and the Lyrics, the words that are getting to know someone, finding out all about them and spending time together.
So if you are looking for a light, fun, and feel-good story that pushed the mold a little, go see Music and Lyrics!