Keeping Mum is a bizarre mix of Brit wit and subtle satire.
Let's face it; it's been years since a decent British comedy hit the screen. Sure, Four Weddings and a Funeral was funny, but Richard Curtis has attacked audiences with enough clones to make them immune to Hugh Grant's bumbling charm. And while The Full Monty had its moments, it was still, well, missing some balls.
Enter Keeping Mum. Originally set in the US, this is Murder Most Horrid meets Nanny McPhee. Sound surreal? You have no idea.
Reverend Goodfellow (Rowan Atkinson) is obsessing over the perfect sermon, Gloria Goodfellow (Kristin Scott-Thomas) is breaking the Seventh Commandment with golf instructor Lance (Patrck Swayze), and while son Petey is being bullied at school, nymphomaniac daughter Holly is doing more rounds than the postie's bike. In comes nanny Grace (Maggie Smith) who wastes no time solving the family's problems. Think Mary Poppins, but instead of a spoonful of sugar, try a shovel full of vengeance.
Keeping Mum is a bizarre mix of Brit wit and subtle satire. Johnson keeps the surprises coming, and the cast puts out well too. Atkinson pulls off a pretty good no-laughs part despite the inner-Bean sometimes bursting through. But it's Maggie Smith who shines as Grace, storming her lines with a veteran's calm, spinning potentially bad jokes into chucklers, and good ones into popcorn spillers.
If it falters in its dramatic responsibilities, it’s still a film with laughs at its heart. It won't set the world on fire, but there hasn’t been a more original comedy this year.
A film about a moralistic nanny on the big screen.
A refreshing story with a British accent, thank you very much.
Dramatic naivety detracts from an otherwise memorable rom-com.
