2008 | U.S. | 90 minutes
Director: Griffin Dunn
Writers: Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor, Bonnie Sikowitz
Cast: Uma Thurman, Colin Firth, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Distributor: No domestic theatrical
Cdn video distributor: Sony Pictures
Much like this week’s The Ugly Truth (critique posted last week), The Accidental Husband uses the much-loved template of boy meets girl, boy/girl hate each other, fall in love, fight, break-up, get back together, the end. It also uses a love doctor premise. This time the doc is Dr. Emma Lloyd, played by Uma Thurman. She focuses her advice on being very picky and practical when choosing a mate — much like her rich, bland fiance Richard (Colin Firth). It’s enough to prompt jittery Sofia (Justina Machado) to cancel her wedding to Patrick — her sweet, funny, charming, hunky New York City fireman of a groom played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. If such a man truly exists, I’d be curious to meet the woman strong enough to throw that fish back into the water.
Jilted and pissed off, Patrick is presented with an opportunity for revenge; he can screw up Emma’s wedding too by having his computer-savvy friend hack into the Marriage License Bureau and create a record that says she’s already married — to Patrick.
It’s a good premise, with nice potential for comedy gold. So how did this become such a mess?
For example, what happens to Sofia? You know, the girl Patrick was going to spend the rest of his life with, who breaks his heart and sets everything in motion. Who knows. After the opening scenes she disappears from the rest of the story. Within minutes Patrick is already getting misty-eyed about Emma. It’s not explained why he does. Perhaps it’s because she recites names of U.S. presidents when drinking. It’s about all he knows about her at this point.
Then there’s Mr and Mrs Bollenbecker, played by Keir Dullea and Isabella Rossellini. Their entrance into the story is mind-numbing in it’s complexity. They also seem to exist only to induce a screwball-comedy subplot involving mistaken identity. Their story is dispensed with well before the halfway mark — it was neither interesting or funny anyway — and they’re gone too. Granted Rossellini is lovely and all — she always is — but good riddance.
Watching the 20-minute “making-of” doc that accompanies the dvd, it gives some clues as to what went wrong. Apparently The Accidental Husband was 10 years in the making, with countless re-writes and input from producer Thurman and director Griffin Dunn. The only addition that is credited to anyone was one from Dunn; a Hindu Sacred Thread ceremony scene. It’s a great — insanely long — joy-filled inclusion, that adds an uncommon cultural flavour to the proceedings. It serves no purpose being in the story, but it’s fun to watch.
So too is Jeffrey Dean Morgan. His character consistently maintains a gentle working-class charm, and everyone he meets seems to love him. It’s easy to see why. He’s handsome, funny and utterly charming. So much so it’s impossible to feel upset that he never tells Emma, until the very end, the truth of his original revenge plan.
Expect to see more of Morgan in the future. If he can outshine Firth and Thurman in this disaster, he’ll go far.
The problem with Firth and Thurman is that their uptight characters are far too manic to be funny. Her Emma, for example, is constantly banging into stuff and acting flustered. It’s like she’s hyped up on coke. Richard, on the other hand, compulsively eats his way through a crisis. Supposedly this is funny.
One nice bit, though, is when Richard makes his final exit. Normally such characters are played out as despicable — and, if you watch carefully, the script still leaves hints (presumably remnants of earlier drafts) of what that might be — but he turns out to be a swell guy. It’s a welcome twist from the usual formula.
Sam Shepherd, as Emma’s father, is also wonderful to watch. Much like the Hindu scene, he serves no significant purpose to the story, but his consistently cool laid-back presence is a welcome relief from the over-worked attempts at comedy.
And what do we learn about love in the end? After all Thurman’s character is all about figuring out that big topic. Apparently it boils down to “don’t sweat the small stuff.”
Nice one, Emma. Too bad Sofia didn’t get the benefit of this advice sooner.
- Theatrical release date: No domestic theatrical
- Video release date: November 10, 2009
- Production Budget: n/a
- Worldwide Box Office: $20,129,180
FUN ALTERNATIVE: The Truth About Cats and Dogs is one of many variations of Cyrano de Bergerac, and is still one of the best romantic comedies around. It’s not without its faults, such as Thurman‘s tendency to go into full-body tense-up in almost every scene. Will she ever learn? Honey, it’s romantic entanglement, not 9/11. Try to calm down.
Janeane Garofalo plays a radio talk show host (why do rom-com writers love this profession so much?) who gives advice to pet owners. After she saves a particularly troubled caller (Ben Chaplin) from doggy disaster, he becomes enamored. And what a dish he turns out to be — handsome, funny, intelligent, and with a inviting British accent to boot. Their love blooms during one remarkable all-night phone conversation, but it puts her in a panic. Having not laid eyes on her yet, she worries he won’t find her attractive.
So she enlists the help of her not-too-swift neighbour (the supposedly more-beautiful Thurman) to stand in for her when he pushes for a face-to-face.
The screwy mistaken-identity stuff that follows is mostly unspectacular comedy, and it almost derails the appeal of Chaplin’s character (could he really that blind to the ruse?). What saves it is the adorable Garofalo. She is not the “dog” the script tries to project. I especially like how she uses her eyes to project shock, dismay, panic and such. It’s way more effective — and funny — than Thurman’s full-body convulsions in similar circumstances. In a way, Garofalo is the Mary Ann to Thurman’s Ginger — and most men agree, Mary Ann is the real hottie.
Mostly it’s the chemistry between Garofalo and Chaplin that is best. They generate a genuine desire within the audience to see their relationship survive, and the ending is a worthy pay-off.
It’s an injustice Hollywood producers still insist on casting Garofalo in bitchy supporting roles.