Movie Review - Bad Grandmas

Bad Grandmas

2017

The Cast

 There's something strange about this little comedy...  

It's not a great story, though there are a couple of twists.  When Bobbi (Wall) finds out that she is about to lose her house to her ex-son-in-law, after the death of her daughter, she turns to her friends for help...  Unfortunately for him, this quadruple of octogenarians don't mind getting their hands dirty.  When Mimi (Henderson) goes to visit him, things get out of control when she pulls a gun...  From here on in, events start to spiral out of control.  You have a loan shark wanting his money back and is willing to kill for it.  A detective who is smarter than he looks and is hot on the heels of the missing ex-son-in-law and the mystery surrounding the disappearance.

The acting isn't too great.  Even Henderson and Grier have problems with getting a grip on their characters and at times seem out of odds with the story and the film.  It's Wall, Reinhold, and Parrish's characters that shine the most and they are brilliant in their portrayals.  It's Parrish's portrayal of the flirtatious Ava that added the most light to this film.  As for Eaton who played Virginia, I have to wonder what the point of her character was... it just feels like she was there to make up the numbers.  Oh and then there's Batinkoff as Detective Mclemore.  I really feel for him as he appears to be a decent actor, but at times his comedic movements are way over the top and unfunny in this type of situation and this style of comedy.

The direction isn't great and even draws on other films for its scenes... take the "Pass The Spliff" scene where we get comedic close-ups of the actresses and actor all partaking in a tote or two.  This has been done so many times before that I cannot actually name where I saw it first.  There were plenty of times that both tension and suspense could have been added to the film but were totally overlooked.  The scene where the Detective knows in his gut that something is fishy with the old galls so decides to check out the house.  Instead of adding atmosphere the director decides to play it for laughs... and as I said Batinkoff's comedy walks are not up to the Monty Python excellence.  This gives the whole movie a steady pace, which, at times, makes it feel boring.  It needed a kick up the arse.

All that said...  I found it to be a very enjoyable movie.  It's genuinely more enjoyable than the sum of its parts actually appear.  On paper, you shouldn't like this film... but it is a nice Sunday Morning easy flick... with murder and dark humour.  I laughed out loud and that is the job of this movie... I even felt good at the end... and I may even watch it again...

So I would recommend this to the lovers of gallows humour and good "Bad B-Movies".  For some weird reason this worked for me, it may work for you too.  Though I will warn you the worst part of this film is the opening titles - they are truly horrendous...and not in a good way.

I give this a Darkly Mischievous Murder of 5.5 out of 10.

The Trailer

Movie Review - Home And Away

Home And Away

1956

The Cast

A Long Time Ago... there used to be the football pools.  Before the National Lottery, Health Lottery, and the Postcode Lottery... even before GambleAware; everybody had a chance to put a bet on the UK's football teams.  You didn't even have to leave the house as the "Pools Man" would come to you and knock upon your door.

This is the story of the Knowles family and their luck, or lack of it, with winning the pools.  Things start to go awry pretty much as soon as George Knowles (Warner) starts looking for his pools sheet, which he usually keeps in his wallet.  From this moment on, there are some pretty decent twists and turns.  This adds both elements of comedy and drama.

There are some very witty moments in the film as the dialogue is brilliant, at times, as is the characterisations.  The writers have given the audience a well structured and highly believable and realistic tale. Though this is an old film, there are situations and relationships that the viewer will still find pertinent today.

The Director, Sewell, who also had a hand in writing the film, does a good job with the camera work, though there's nothing outstanding... except for the ending.  For the time, this is a nice simple special effect, which works well.  It's the pace of the movie where Sewell excels.  In most comedies the laughs start to wind down around the midway mark, only to build up for the climax.  In this film though, the comedy is constant.  Both in dialogue and in sight gags.  I think this works because there are so many different characters in the film.

For example, Jack Warner and Lana Morris played father and daughter, George and Mary Knowles;  These are the "Straight Men" to the rest of the cast.  Harrison, who portrays Elsie Knowles, does a good job of overselling her anxiety over money and the changes it can bring.  Though, at times, her screeching had my thumb hovering over the off button - luckily enough it hit the volume down instead.  Thora Hird is brilliant as the neighbour and friend, Margie Groves... who likes a tipple and loves a fag.  The scene where she's all dolled up for the party and is placing cakes onto plates while a fag hangs loosely between her lips is an image I won't forget too soon.  It made me laugh as I used to have an aunty very similar to her.  Her husband, Ted (marvellously played by Charles Victor) is a working-class tinkerer come scientist; he's trying to create a gas-powered television.  He also speaks his mind, which creates a great scene when he goes head to head with Aunt Jean at the party... much to her cuckolded husband's, Uncle Tom's, humour.

Everybody in this cast is superb in their roles.  Even a young Kate O'Mara does a brilliant job as Annie Knowles; the youngest daughter, who loves to revel in how sick she was, the night before, and is all too happy to tell everyone the explicit details... a real teenager.

All of this makes for great entertainment and at just one hour and twenty minutes you can't go wrong.

If you've not watched this one yet then go find a copy, or if you're in the UK it's playing on Talking Pictures on Freeview at the moment.  Well worth a watch.

I give this a humorous slice of life 7 out of 10.

The Trailer