"TWO WEEKS NOTICE" (2002) Review

"TWO WEEKS NOTICE" (2002) Review

If I must be brutally honest, the age of Hollywood romantic comedies had bid its farewell a long time ago. Although the film industry has released a small share of movies in this genre in the past thirty or forty years, a good number of them simply failed to measure up to the numerous romantic comedies that came from the Hollywood studios - especially between 1934 and 1965. 

But . . . there have been a handful of these comedies released in the last thirty years that managed to catch my eye. One of them is the 2002 comedy called "TWO WEEKS NOTICE". Written and directed by Marc Lawrence, the movie starred Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant. "TWO WEEKS NOTICE" was a box office hit, but it attracted mix reviews from the critics. I have only read one review of the film, in which its writer described the film as flaccid. But after watching the film, I do not think I could agree with this assessment.

"TWO WEEKS NOTICE" is about the relationship between a liberal lawyer named Lucy Kelson, who specializes in environmental law in New York City; and George Wade, an immature billionaire real estate tycoon who has almost everything and knows almost nothing. When Lucy meets George in an attempt to stop the destruction of a Coney Island community center, he hires her to replace his former Chief Counsel on the promise to protect the community center if she agrees to work for him. Within a year, Lucy not only ends up working for George's company, but also giving advice on all aspects of his life . . . literally becoming his indispensable aide. But when George tricks her into leaving a friend's wedding because he is unable to choose an outfit for an event, Lucy decides she has had enough and gives him her two weeks' notice of resignation. However, matters become difficult when George blocks Lucy's attempt to find another job. When he finally agrees to find a replacement, George considers an attractive law school graduate named June Carver . . . and Lucy is surprised to find herself becoming jealous.

Remember when I had earlier stated that I disagree with one critic's opinion that "TWO WEEKS NOTICE" was flaccid? I am sticking with my assessment. It is not the kind of comedy that produces belly laughs. Although, I admit there were quite a few in the movie. And if I must be brutally honest, it is not exactly what I would call an original romantic comedy. I have come across movies with a similar style or characterizations. But I still managed to enjoy the movie. A lot. Original or not, I liked Marc Lawrence's story very much. I thought he did a very good job in not only developing Lucy and George's characterizations, but also their relationship. The movie featured some very funny scenes - including George's first meeting with Lucy's father and disapproving mother, George's interruption of the wedding that Lucy was attending, their night at a New York Mets game, Lucy's attempt to manipulate George's brother (the senior executive in the Wade organization) into firing her, George's mistaken assumption that one of the job applicants was pregnant, and the entire tennis party sequence that ended with George helping Lucy find a bathroom or restroom on the road back to New York City. Damn, that is a lot. But the best thing I liked about "TWO WEEKS NOTICE" were the leads Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant. I do not know if they ever liked each other behind the scenes (and honestly, I do not care), but it seemed obvious to me that on screen, Bullock and Grant were magic together.

"TWO WEEKS NOTICE" was not perfect. Like I had earlier stated, it was not particularly original. Neither was John Powell's score. I enjoyed the songs not written by Powell a lot more than I did his music. And I am still confused over how George's older brother, the humorless Howard Wade, managed to threatened George's loss of funds if the latter did not drop the project to save the Coney Island community center. I suppose other critics were able to find more faults with the movie. However, this was the best I could do.

I have already praised Bullock and Grant's on screen chemistry. But I never said anything else about their performances. Lucy Kelson is one of my favorite roles ever portrayed by Bullock. On paper, a hardcore liberal attorney might seem like an ideal role. Thankfully, Bullock did not portray Lucy as ideal. She skillfully included many of Lucy's faults as well, making the character a fully fleshed character. On the other hand, George Wade IS my favorite Hugh Grant role. Before "TWO WEEKS NOTICE", Grant had became known for his collection of stammering, yet charming characters that made him a star. He broke out of this rut with his portrayal of a womanizing rogue in 2001's "BRIDGET JONES' DIARY". George Wade was a interesting mixture of his stammering charmers and his roguish character from the latter film. More importantly, he did an excellent job of developing George's character from this likable, yet self-involved man to one who had to learn to grow up in order to be with a woman he truly loved.

"TWO WEEKS NOTICE" also featured some excellent supporting performances. Both Robert Klein and Dana Ivey were wonderful as Lucy's parents - the easy going and slightly sarcastic Larry Kelson and the no nonsense Ruth Kelson, who proved to be even more hardcore than her daughter. Alicia Witt gave a charming performance as Lucy's possible replacement, who forced the other woman to face her true feelings about George. Dorian Missick was rather funny as George's friend and chauffeur, Tony. He was especially hilarious in one scene in which his character tries to explain the "mystery of women" to George. Francie Swift gave a brief, yet funny performance as George's bitchy soon-to-be ex-wife. And both David Haig and Charlotte Maier proved one could be funny while portraying George's humorless and staid brother and sister-in-law, Howard and Lauren Wade.

I suspect I am among the minority who genuinely like "TWO WEEKS NOTICE". But you know what? Who cares? There is no law that I have to agree with every movie critic or the opinion of every film fan that catches my attention. I enjoyed "TWO WEEKS NOTICE" very much. I enjoyed its story and humor, thanks to Marc Lawrence's screenplay and direction. I enjoyed László Kovács' beautiful photography of New York City and I especially enjoyed the performances of the cast led by Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant. I enjoyed "TWO WEEKS NOTICE" and I feel that is nothing to feel ashamed about.

"TWO WEEKS NOTICE" (2002) Photo Gallery

Below are images from the 2002 romantic comedy, "TWO WEEKS NOTICE". Written and directed by Marc Lawrence, the movie starred Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant: 


"TWO WEEKS NOTICE" (2002) Photo Gallery

"MY BOY JACK" (2007) Review

"MY BOY JACK" (2007) Review

The origin for the 2007 television movie, "MY BOY JACK" goes back quite a ways. Back in 1915, British author Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem as a response to the news that his only son John (also known as "Jack") had been reported missing after the Battle of Loos. Eighty-two years later, actor David Haig produced, wrote and starred a play, based upon the circumstances behind Kipling's poem. And Haig did the same for the television adaptation of his play, ten years later. 

"MY BOY JACK" begins during the summer of 1914, when Great Britain enters World War I. Seventeen year-old Jack Kipling attempts to join the Royal Navy in England's war against Germany and Austria. His father, Rudyard Kipling encourages his desire to fight and uses his role as one of the country's war propagandists to make several arrangements for Jack to enlist in either the Navy or the Army. But Jack's poor eyesight proves to be a detriment. Finally, Kipling succeeds in securing Jack an officer's commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Irish Guards. Both Jack's mother Carrie and sister Elsie disapprove of this assignment, as they fear he might be deployed to the front line. Jack proves to be a popular officer with his troops, while he undergoes military training. Within six months, his regiment travels to France. And on his 18th birthday, Jack and his platoon participate in the Battle of Loos. After he is reported missing in action after the battle, the Kiplings become determined to learn of Jack's fate.

I did consider reading other reviews of "MY BOY JACK" and ended up reading only one. Other than a comment on Daniel Radcliffe's performance, I found the article irrelevant. I realized that my only concern should be my opinion. I must say that I found the television movie very interesting. I rarely watch movies about World War I. It is not that I found them boring. But I have noticed that films and television productions about World War I tend to be a little darker than movies about other past wars . . . even Vietnam War movies. Before one assumes that "MY BOY JACK" is lighter than other movies I have seen about the war, it is not. Anyone reading my summary of the film's plot could easily surmise that "MY BOY JACK" is not only based upon history, but is also a rather dark and tragic tale.

I would not consider "MY BOY JACK" one of the best World War I productions I have ever seen. It certainly is not one of my favorites. My problem is that I found the second half of the movie a bit too limiting for my tastes. The 1997 play ended with the Kiplings finally putting Jack's death to rest by the 1920s and Kipling fearing the possibility of a new war with Germany by the 1930s. The 2007 movie ended on a different note, with the Kiplings learning about Jack's death from one of his men by the end of the war. This left television audiences with a stiff upper lip ending in which Kipling finally deals with the loss of his son in a different manner. In the scene, Kipling emotionally connects with his king and friend, George V, while the latter remembers his youngest son Prince John, who had died two months after the war's end. I honestly wish that Haig had adhered closer to the play's ending. I believe it would have given the movie's second half a bit more substance.

However, the movie does feature some memorable moments. Most of those moments featured scenes between members of the Kipling family. In one early scene between Kipling and Jack, I found it interesting that although both father and son agreed over the latter's desire to join the military, there seemed to be some kind of tension . . . at least from Jack. His behavior reminded me of something his sister Elsie said in another outstanding dramatic scene - that Jack's true reason for joining the military was to escape the family and the shadow of his father's fame. The movie also featured excellent scenes conveying Jack's training with the Irish Guards, the Kiplings' emotional debates over Jack's fate and the King's mournful recollection of his recently deceased son. But I feel that the movie's most powerful scene was the Kiplings' discovery of Jack's fate through the recollections of a soldier who had served in their son's platoon. Between Private Bowe's guilt and regret, the Kiplings' reaction and the flashbacks that revealed Jack's fate, I thought it was an outstanding sequence.

Those memorable scenes would have never been possible by the first-rate actors and actresses that made up the cast. All of them gave excellent performances, including supporting cast members like Martin Freeman and Julian Wadham, who skillfully portrayed the guilt-ridden Private Bowe and the quietly grieving King George V. But the best performances came from the four cast members who portrayed members of the Kipling family. David Haig was incredibly intense as the emotional and somewhat intimidating Rudyard Kipling. For a moment, I feared he would eventually become hammy, but he managed to keep his performance under control. I read somewhere that Kim Cattrall had received mixed reviews for her portrayal of Kipling's American-born wife, Caroline. I found this rather shocking for I thought her performance was excellent and a lot more subtle than Haig's. I suspect many critics and viewers were incapable of overlooking her character from HBO's "SEX AND THE CITY". How pathetic. Carey Mulligan gave a strong hint of her exceptional talent in her portrayal of Kipling's outspoken daughter, Elsie. Although Daniel Radcliffe received positive reviews, I did come across one reviewer who found the young actor unconvincing as Jack Kipling. As it turned out, the reviewer could not reconcile Radcliffe in any role other than Harry Potter. I, on the other hand, had no problems with Radcliffe's portrayal of Jack Kipling. In fact, I thought he gave a superb performance, 

"MY BOY JACK" featured some outstanding performances and powerful scenes. And yet, it failed to become one of the best World War I dramas, thanks to a less-than-satisfying ending. I really wish that Haig and director Brian Kirk had adhere a lot closer to the stage version's original ending. Oh well . . . it is still a movie worth viewing.

"MY BOY JACK" (2007) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "MY BOY JACK", the 2007 television adaptation of David Haig's 1997 stage play. Directed by Brian Kirk, the movie starred David Haig, Kim Cattrall, Daniel Radcliffe and Carey Mulligan: 


"MY BOY JACK" (2007) Photo Gallery