Did you know Dustin Hoffman was 72? No, neither did I until recently. I still would, though. It's those twinkly eyes ...
Anyway, lusting after septuagenarians is not a regular pastime of mine I assure you, although such a remark may lead many to wonder whether it's the only plausible excuse for watching Last Chance Harvey, starring the aforementioned Mr Hoffman and Britain's own Emma Thompson. On first glance, such a view is hard to shake. The movie does sound like a bad Richard Curtis movie (and that's saying something). Hoffman plays Harvey Shine, an American jingle writer who comes to London for his estranged daughter's wedding. His career (which he fell into, jazz having been his real love) is on the skids and his daughter prefers for her step-father to give her away. Thompson plays Kate, an older, more pragmatic version of Bridget Jones; she's an airport worker whose love life seems at the mercy of her aged mother's increasing paranoia - a friend calls Kate's mum 'the human contraceptive' quite accurately - and appallingly painful blind dates. Their paths cross, there's a connection, a misunderstanding and yes, you've guessed it, final reconciliation proving that it's never too late to fall in love. This makes it sound like a formulaic, twee rom com huh? As you can imagine, I approached it gingerly, expecting little.
I was surprised then, by how much I liked it (and indeed a featured performance from Kitty, Daisy and Lewis on the South Bank). The story is nothing new and the film contains many cliched shots of London, clearly set up to appeal to the US audience Hoffman is there to attract, but nonetheless this is an uncomplicated and gentle movie which is impossible to dislike. As many critics have pointed out, this is mainly due to the appealing performances Hoffman and Thompson give, but hey they work well together so who cares? The message is sentimental without being cloying and it's nice to see a love story about people over 40 which isn't morbidly depressing or just plain embarrassing. Whilst the laughs in Last Chance Harvey are far from being of the belly variety, it is nonetheless charming and comforting fare. This is more of a vaguely funny drama than an out and out romantic comedy and is perhaps all the better for its lack of age-related quips. I would urge cinephiles to leave their preoccupations at the door when watching Last Chance Harvey, but add that although its pleasant viewing, you can still afford to wait until it comes out on rental release.
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