The Grace who needs saving is Grace Trevethan, played by Brenda Blethyn. Grace's husband has just passed on, leaving her with only a mountain of debt and the grand country estate that was mortgaged to fund his misguided business ventures. Now Grace will lose her home if she is unable to pay off her husband's outstanding balance.
Grace knows nothing of finance, but she is an expert gardener. It seems that her hired hand, Matthew, played by Craig Ferguson, has a small 'garden' of his own that needs an expert's touch, and Grace knows just what to do. Together they hatch a plan to make more than enough money to please the banks, by turning Grace's greenhouse into a bustling marijuana farm. What follows is one of the most charming and delightfully silly films of the year.
Saving Grace owes much to other recent comedies like The Full Monty and Waking Ned Divine. It exists in the same slightly warped reality as those films, where friendly people live in picturesque villages, everyone in town seems to know everyone else, and the local policeman and vicar can be expected to turn a blind eye toward small indiscretions... like running high-tech pot plantations.
Brenda Blethyn is wonderful as Grace. I wouldn't be surprised if she earns an Oscar nomination for this role. Comic performances are too often ignored by the Academy, but Blethyn's portrayal of Grace may just get their attention. The rest of the cast is also very good.
Like most British comedies, there is a great deal of set-up before the real fun begins, but once things get rolling, Saving Grace delivers. There are many funny, and a few downright hysterical, moments in this film.
Although it does kind of cop-out at the end, I'm willing to turn a blind eye toward that small indiscretion, and you should too! This is a very fun, enjoyable movie, even if you don't inhale.
Directed By: Nigel Cole
Starring: Brenda Blethyn, Craig Ferguson, Martin Clunes, Bill Bailey,
Tcheky Karyo, Jamie Foreman, Valerie Edmond
Rated: R (Language / Brief Nudity)
Running Time: 93 Min.
