Fridae

Marc Lawrence, if you may remember, was the director who made Music and Lyrics with Hugh Grant, which managed to be far better than it should have been by leveraging on the actor’s modern comic image as an ageing has-been who is self-depreciatingly and humorously aware that he is an ageing has-been.

Two years later, the duo are back with yet another formulaic romantic comedy which they hope will be much improved by leveraging on yet another comic aspect of Hugh Grant’s modern comic image: a slimeball who knows he’s a slimeball and is self-deprecatingly and humorously sorry about it. He’s sorry about having cheated on his spouse (played by Sarah Jessica Parker as yet another neurotic career woman), but Mrs Morgan isn’t ready to forgive or forget – and hilarity ensues when the separated couple are forced to relocate and live together in cowboy country as FBI witnesses.

Basically, the comedy routine is Green Acres with a squabbling couple from the FBI witness protection scheme. Or perhaps The Beverly Hillbillies, with gawking big city folk stuck in a small town in Wyoming. In other words, expect a fish out of water comedy with whole lot of stereotypes and jokes about rural living (why, there’s even a setpiece with a rodeo fair!).

Much like Music and Lyrics, there isn’t much originality or surprises in how the comedy plays out, and it all boils down to how Hugh Grant and his co-stars can value-add with their casting, performances, and screen chemistry. Needless to say, Grant does charm with his act. Sadly to say, Sarah Jessica Parker plays her neurotic and emotionally confused career woman far too unimaginatively. Surprising to say, Sam Elliot’s turn as a stock Federal Marshall rivals Hugh Grant in the comedy stakes.

This romantic comedy is very watchable and surprisingly good if you are prepared to lower expectations, just as you did for Music and Lyrics.