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The Movie: "Saving Grace" is a cute little "small-town" movie, similar (almost too much) to "Waking Ned Divine". Starring Craig Ferguson("The Drew Carey Show", "The Big Tease"), the film is a comedy, but the humor is hit-and-miss. It does have some things going for it - it is the first comedy about pot that isn't, well, dopey. The "Grace" of the title is played by Brenda Blethyn (Secrets and Lies) as a woman loved by the small town she lives in. When she gets in major financial trouble (her late husband had some bad business deals), she is at a loss for what to do. Her assistant has a bit of a suggestion: grow marijuana. Lots and lots of it. And since the townspeople like her so much, they don't notice when Grace turns on the growing lights at night so brightly that they light up the night sky like fireworks. The film at this point asks the audience to believe a little too much, and it keeps going as Grace goes to London to sell the stuff. I won't go on as to give away what happens for the film's final section, but it's a somewhat satisfying wrap-up. It's not that I disliked "Saving Grace" completely; it's just that the film is noticably slow, which is saying something for a 90 minute movie. I laughed a couple of times, but for a comedy, there's a lot of space between the chuckles. The performances are pleasant and really do save the movie from going up in smoke(sorry, had to say it.) Ferguson is good here, but was a little better in "The Big Tease". Brenda Blethyn is good as always and gets a little better as the movie goes on. The supporting players are fine, as well. I enjoyed the fact that the film was able to create a cast of fully written characters in the span of the running time, but again, pace is a problem here. And when the film did get slow, I simply sat back and watched the film's scenery, which is almost impossibly beautiful. "Saving Grace" is a cute little movie, nothing memorable, and good for a laugh or two. ** 1/2 |