B-Movies: Saving Grace & Small Time Crooks • December 7, 2000

B-Movies & Couch Classics
Reviews of Movies Often Overlooked or Forgotten

by Arik Ben Treston

Saving Grace
New Line, 2000

There is an inherently different style of presenting characters in American films than there is in foreign ones. This isn’t necessarily a criticism, just an observation. I’ve long noted in my reviews that often films in the States eschew strong character development for bigger and better special effects and louder explosions. The reverse can be said for foreign films like last year’s surprise British hit Saving Grace. Brenda Blethyn, the Oscar-nominated actress from Secrets & Lies and Little Voice stars as Grace, a just-widowed woman who lives in a beautiful house in a quaint and charming seaside town. Grace’s passion is gardening and she spends her days working in her greenhouse and having lovely little tea parties. Her help is Matthew, played by Colin Ferguson from television’s "The Drew Carey Show" and last year’s British comedy The Big Tease. Not only does Ferguson do a wonderful job as Matthew, he also co-wrote and co-produced the film.

Grace’s problems begin when she learns that her recently-deceased husband owed quite a sum of money to banks, investors, and nearly everyone else under the sun. Faced with serious financial ruin and repossession of everything she owns, Grace must find a way to get back on the fiduciary track. The answer? Well, let’s just say it involves Matthew’s knowledge in growing (or smoking) certain plants.

Ignoring "just say no" political correctness, this film delights in its naughtiness and having a wonderful actress like Blethyn in the lead makes the whole thing more believable and fun. Her Grace is a sweet woman who is simply trying to keep things afloat and is willing to go full throttle to insure that.

The townspeople are the somewhat usual mix of quirky side players. There’s the oblivious cop, the good doctor with the munchies and the wacky old general store ladies. These players tend to lean to the stereotypical presentation of films like this one but they work. What can I say?

Saving isn’t trying to be an art-house film sent over to us for our education and edification of British culture. It is a simple Cheech and Chong-ish comedy with a bangers and mash twist that provides good laughs and plenty of munchies.

Small Time Crooks
Dreamworks, 2000

Close watchers of Woody Allen’s work know that you can break him down into perhaps three distinct categories. There are his serious films — September, Another Woman, Interiors — his silly farcical fare — Bananas, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Sleeper —and his more brainy comedies — Hannah and Her Sisters, Annie Hall, and Manhattan. His latest film, Small Time Crooks, is an addition to the middle category and somewhat resembles his early film Take The Money and Run in tone.

Allen plays Ray Winkler, a (get this) nebbishy man who is married The Honeymooners-style to ‘Frenchy’, played to the New Yawky-hilt by Tracey Ullman. Ray is a lifelong little crook who is always scheming about the next big thing. When he gets his latest idea things begin to change forever.

Ray gets his friends Denny (Michael Rapaport), Benny (Jon Lovitz) and Tommy (Tony Darrow) to plan a bank heist. His brilliant idea is to rent a vacant store and tunnel under it to the bank, right into the vault.

Considering that all involved are sub-par in the criminal-brain department, things aren’t going to go as smoothly as Ray would hope. The rental property is made over into a cookie store façade to cover the underground goings-on. Frenchy is put in charge of running the store and to the surprise of all involved, the store becomes a huge hit. It got so big in fact, that they need to get extra help to run it. Frenchy’s dim cousin (a great Elaine May) is brought in — since she wouldn’t know what the hell is going on anyway. With the cookies being as profitable as they are, the plans of the heist don’t go so well as the cookie company becomes a conglomerate and takes everything over.

At this point, Ray and Frenchy have to get used to the high-life that they have always wanted to attain. Ray is the more ill at ease one, as he would rather be watching TV while drinking a beer. Frenchy keeps herself busy trying to become refined with the help of high-society David (Hugh Grant). David shows Frenchy what art is all about and takes her to all the important status events. This splits the couple as they aspire to achieve different goals.

This film amounts to a humorous take on class status and cookie making. Well, class status and social satire anyway. Woody Allen plays Woody Allen better than anyone and he does it very well here. While he doesn’t really stretch as an actor, he is funny and light on his feet, as are his co-stars. May, is especially fun to watch as the cerebrally-challenged "May". Grant looks as if he is having a good time sending up his upper-crust image and Ullman is at her chameleon best playing the social climber with no height too high.

Compared to his films of recent years, this is the most un-Woody film that he has made. He has built a simple and kooky movie that is delightful and entertaining and you won’t even see any females wearing an "Annie Hall" suit for a change.