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Saving Grace Starring Brenda Blethyn and Craig Ferguson
Directed by Nigel Cole Now playing in select theaters

Your late husband has jumped out of a plane without a parachute.
All you are left with is his massive debt and the repossessors who
are knocking down your front door. What’s a woman to do? The
simple and smart solution: transform your orchid hothouse into a
greenhouse for the large-scale cultivation of marijuana. At least
that’s what Grace Trevethan does in “Saving
Grace,” the feature debut by British director Nigel Cole.
Faced with bankruptcy, Grace (Brenda Blethyn) decides to turn her
renowned gardening skills into a lucrative and illicit enterprise.
She takes a hilarious deviation from the genteel world of Chelsea
flower shows, to the debaucherous underground of London raves. Much
of the humor in this British comedy revolves around the prim and
proper Grace, and her misadventures with gangsters, police and drug
dealers. Blethyn is charmingly convincing as the simple-minded
widow whose desperation drives her into a world of corruption and
vice. Though Grace soon discovers that crime doesn’t pay, she
finds enlightenment and independence in her failed venture. From
smoking her first joint to meeting with a French drug lord, her
hilarious escapades prove that British humor can be fairly
universal Memorable scenes include a frank discussion about sex
between the widow and her late husband’s mistress, as well as
an illuminating conversation in a pub about the literary merits of
both Franz Kafka and Jackie Collins. Balancing the humor in the
film is a romance between Grace’s friends, Matthew (Craig
Ferguson) and Nicky (Valerie Edmond). Though there doesn’t
seem to be much linking the couple besides Nicky’s pregnancy,
their touching story provides just enough romance to offset the
sometimes over-the-top humor. Grace’s good nature saturates
the film just as it infects the entire Cornish village.
Unforgettable moments involve the local “bobby”
streaking naked across the screen and a pair of old ladies who
experience an insatiable case of the munchies after drinking what
they think is Grace’s new herbal tea. You don’t have to
inhale, however, to enjoy this feel good adventure that documents
the comic mayhem that results when a little “home
grown” comes to a small Cornish town.

Emilia Hwang Rating: 8

Nutty Professor II: The Klumps Starring Eddie Murphy and
Janet Jackson Directed by Peter Segal Now playing

Synthesized farts, wisecracks about impotence combined with an
surplus of fat jokes characterize the cliched and pointless sequel
“The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.” The plot is lame
at best. Buddy Love (Eddie Murphy), Sherman’s alter ego from
“The Nutty Professor,” continues to periodically rule
Sherman’s body because Buddy Love is still located on one of
Sherman’s genes. Soon enough, implementing the groundbreaking
DNA technique of his colleague and fiancé Denise (Janet
Jackson), Sherman removes Buddy’s DNA from his body. Instead
of building upon the plot of “The Nutty Professor,”
from which all of Murphy’s hilarious characters are derived,
the sequel plays more like an extended version of the family dinner
scene in the first movie. After being snubbed by the Academy Awards
despite his remarkable portrayals in “The Nutty
Professor,” Murphy seems to use the sequel as a vehicle to
further showcase his talents as a master impersonator. Murphy
fails, however, to keep audience interest for the entire film
despite his convincing portrayals of Sherman Klump, the loveable
and innocent title character, Granny Klump, the sexually
hyperactive and condescending grandmother, Mamma Klump, the
peace-loving glue of the family, Papa Klump, the recently laid off
and often stressed-out head of the household, Young Papa Klump, the
exuberant dance-machine and ladies’ man, and Ernie Klump,
Sherman’s unemployed brother and the family leech. And if it
is fifth-grade humor you’re looking for, “The
Klumps” is the movie for you. A hamster sodomizing the dean
of a college? You got it. A fart that saves Papa Klump when in need
of CPR, then catches fire in a restaurant? Why not. At the core of
the movie’s humor is the underlying, and overdone, idea that
a man dressing as a woman equals funny. Murphy’s movie is, no
doubt, a success in what it aims to do. The charismatic star could
bring a smile to almost anyone’s face with his impeccable
facial expressions, colorful accents and outrageous costumes,
allowing the audience to forget that, for the most part, they are
viewing a one-man show that crosses gender and age lines with fluid
grace. Yet, as the movie concludes, moviegoers may feel relieved
that their anticipation of a predictable ending is fulfilled,
complete with insults to intellect by means of childish and
perverted humor.

Cameron Zargar Rating: 5

Hollow Man Starring Kevin Bacon and Elisabeth Shue
Directed by Paul Verhoeven Now playing

Who knows what drives Sebastian Cain to the brink of insanity.
Is it the serum that induces his bio-quantum phase shift? Is it the
obsessive love that he harbors for his co-worker Linda McKay? Or is
it simply inevitable that a scientist must go mad in order to test
the limits of science? In “Hollow Man,” Sebastian
(Kevin Bacon) is a dynamic and brilliant scientist that discovers
the unimaginable power of invisibility. But before they can make
history in the world of science, Sebastian and his team of
scientists must discover the ramifications of being unseen. Though
the film explores provocative issues like derangement and
perversion, the story fails to absorb its audience into the
fantastic world of invisibility. Moral questions are posed, but
their consequences are left unexplored. The ramifications of
Sebastian’s invisible exploits take a back seat to the
special effect of being unseen. The childish trick of shifting the
position of a soda can is treated in the same insubstantial fashion
as the rape of a woman. Without following through on certain
scenes, the film is hardly as engaging as it could be. The film
lacks psychological attachment to the drama instigated by the
“hollow man,” and does not deliver the creepiness of
other science fiction thrillers. However, where the dialogue falls
flat and the story fails to satisfy, the astounding visual affects
will surely captivate audiences. Amazing transformation scenes
feature the human body being stripped away, layer by layer. And
when Sebastian comes in contact with elements of water, smoke and
fire, painstaking attention is taken to bring his features into
partial visibility. Bacon demonstrates his wide scope as an actor,
playing a convincing villain. His complex character evokes sympathy
that must be reluctantly forfeited as Sebastian falls deeper into
immorality. Exhibiting such sympathy in the film is
Sebastian’s love interest, McKay. Shue delivers a solid
physical and emotional performance, playing the persevering and
smart scientist who looks just as comfortable examining slides in a
laboratory as kicking down doors. Though the story itself
doesn’t offer anything new to science fiction audiences, by
testing the limits of visual effects technology, “Hollow
Man” offers a ride that will thrill the mad scientist in all
of us.

Emilia Hwang Rating: 7