The Beautician And The Beast

The Beautician and the Beast is The Nanny: the movie on steroids. And I do love me some Fran Fine/ Fran Drescher. This delightful watch is the perfect way to end a hard day at work. Street smart with heart never looked this groomed.

Joy Miller (Fran Drescher) is a beautician who teaches an evening course in hairstyling at a Brooklyn community college. When a cigarette dropped on a wig leads to a fire, Joy saves the lab animals kept in the building and achieves 15 minutes of local notoriety. Grushinsky (Ian McNeice), a representative of the leader of the small Eastern European nation of Slovetzia, is visiting the United States while looking for a tutor for the leader's three children. Thinking Joy teaches science (apparently the Slovetzian government doesn't check the resumes of their teaching staff too closely), Grushinsky offers Joy the job, believing that it would be good PR to have a well-known American educator on hand. Joy takes the job and must now deal with Boris Pochenko (Timothy Dalton), the grim and humorless tyrant who rules Slovetzia. Joy's low-brow fashion sense and broad nasal twang of a voice don't sit well with Boris at first, but the kids love her; in time, she teaches Boris to lighten up and enjoy himself, and romance begins to bloom between the unlikely couple. While Fran Drescher had a number of film roles before her TV series The Nanny, this was her first starring role following the show's success.

An Ideal Husband

With slightly less camp than the aforementioned (aforeblogged?) The Importance Of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband holds its own with Wilde lovers and moviegoers combined. Rupert Everett stars with the otherworldly Cate Blanchett and charming Jeremy Northam on this look at how there is much more to reputation, whether good or bad, than meets the eye. Armed with wit to kill and a cast whose talent and beauty is to be revered, An Ideal Husband is definitely riveting in its satirical way.

A romantic and sentimental comedy set at the turn of the 19th century, An Ideal Husband delves into themes of love, passion, and betrayal among the aristocracy. Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam), a brilliant politician and a perfect gentleman, is the ideal husband for the charming Lady Chiltern (Cate Blanchett). They have a widely envied marriage until charming Mrs. Cheveley (Julianne Moore) appears with the intention of revealing a dark secret from Chiltern's past. When his world seems to be falling apart, Chiltern turns to his lifelong friend Lord Arthur Goring (Rupert Everett), the most eligible bachelor in town. Goring soon finds himself caught up in a web of lies, temptations, and secret liaisons. Furthermore, the persistent charms of Sir Robert's sister Mabel (Minnie Driver) are becoming a serious threat to his much-cherished bachelorhood. Using political intrigue and clever wit, An Ideal Husband draws a picture of a society struggling with issues still valid today.

The Importance Of Being Earnest

Ah, we're back to my true love: period films! It really did start it all for me -- the romance, the setting, the dialogue, the nonsensical farce of it all. Period pieces are my crack. Now, add some Oscar Wilde wit to it, and some Colin Firth goodness, and you've got the quickest route to my heart. The Importance Of Being Earnest is a delight to watch, and something you will come back to more and more as time passes. Indeed, like an old friend, I keep visiting these characters over and over for a wonderful catch up.

A superb cast brings Oscar Wilde's classic comedy of manners to life in the third big-screen adaptation of this hilarious look at fun, games, and dubious ethics among the British upper crust. Algernon Moncrieff (Rupert Everett) is a slightly shady, but charming gentlemen from a wealthy family who has a bad habit of throwing his money away. Algernon has a close friend named Jack Worthing (Colin Firth), a self-made man who acts as a ward to his cousin, a beautiful young lady named Cecily (Reese Witherspoon). Algernon has created an alter ego to help him get out of tight spots brought on by his financial improprieties, and when he learns that Jack has created a false identity of his own -- Earnest, a brother living in London whose exploits have earned him no small amount of notoriety -- Algernon arrives for a weekend visit in the country posing as the mysterious Earnest. Having heard of Earnest's misadventures many times over the years, Cecily had developed something of an infatuation with the lovable rogue, and Algernon's impersonation of him works no small degree of magic on Cecily. Meanwhile, Algernon's cousin, Gwendolyn (Frances O'Connor), arrives for the weekend, and is startled to discover Jack is also there -- except that she knows him as bad-boy Earnest. So just who is in love with who? How will Lady Bracknell (Judi Dench) handle the matter of her daughter Gwendolyn's suitors? And what's the truth about Jack's mysterious heritage? The Importance of Being Earnest was director Oliver Parker's second film adaptation of an Oscar Wilde comedy; he previously helmed An Ideal Husband, which also starred Rupert Everett. Everett and Colin Firth also co-starred in the 1984 drama Another Country.

Love And Mary

Apart from my undying need to watch each and every romantic comedy set forth on our land, as well as boredom with nary a book to read nor movie in mind to watch, I can not give you any other reason as to why I took it upon myself to put Love And Mary on. I can't even remember how I came across the title. It wasn't bad, it was just... unremarkable. It could be because I didn't see much of myself in the protagonist (and considering how she's a baker who is obsessed with adopting a sophisticated air about her -- we might have been bosom buddies!), but I really just found her to be pesky at worst, boring at best. Still, I was quite surprised that I found Gabriel Mann to be cute in this film! Brunette obviously suits him better.

A woman pulling a minor scam to keep her dream business alive digs herself in deeper when she becomes involved with a goofy ex-con in this independent comedy from first-time director Elizabeth Harrison. Mary Wilson (Lauren German) was born and raised in Texas, but by the time she became an adult she'd grown tired of her off-the-wall family and moved East to build a career for herself. Mary is an expert chef who has opened an upscale bakeshop, but some bad press and a severe rent increase could put her out of business. Desperate to keep the store afloat, Mary decides to bite the bullet and go back to Texas for a visit; her plan is to bring along her fiancé Brent (Gabriel Mann), introduce him to her folks, and hope their engagement gifts will bring enough cash to pay off her creditors. However, a severe allergic reaction prevents Brent from going; Mary can't afford to postpone the trip, so she brings along Brent's twin brother Jake (also played by Mann), an irresponsible jailbird, to impersonate her intended as she pumps her family for money.

The Decoy Bride

Who doesn't love David Tennant? And who doesn't love a well-imagined romance with a killer soundtrack to boot? And who doesn't love David Tennant starring in a well-imagined romance with a killer soundtrack to boot? So little films involving a love triangle is shown concerning three very different but all wonderful people, and The Decoy Bride does just that. No one is secretly an evil fiancee. No one sets out to rip the original pair apart. Instead, what we have here is a look at how human beings entangle themselves at the worst possible time. Mistaken identities, various European accents (we've got British and Scottish here), and witty dialogue will sure have you laughing by the end. Throw in David Tennant and Kelly MacDonald, plus that amazing OST I was just telling you about, and you've got yourself an immediate must-watch.

When the wedding of internationally famous film star Lara Tyler (Alice Eve) to tweedy English author James Arber (David Tennant) is sabotaged by a paparazzo, they decide to relocate the event to the one place where the world's press won't find them: the sleepy Island of Hegg, as featured in James' bestselling novel The Ornithologists Wife. However, dilapidated buildings and greedy islanders are the least of the problems that the wedding party and their Hollywood entourage have to deal with, as Marco (Federico Castelluccio) the ingenious paparazzo tracks them down in his mission to photograph the celebrity wedding of the year. Steve and his assistant Emma (Sally Phillips) must find a decoy bride and think that local girl Katie (Kelly MacDonald) will be an ideal replacement. But when Katie meets James, sparks fly, dresses get ruined and love gets complicated.

Sundays At Tiffany's

Based on the novel of the same name by James Patterson, Sundays at Tiffany's is crack for hallmark/ abc tv movie-goers like me. Straightforward, funny, cute, and sweet, it holds up to its promise of putting a smile on your face. "What if your imaginary friend ends up being the love of your life?" What an extraordinary and ridiculous thought! That is indeed what the premise of the film (as well as book) is about. If any of you feel the need to be transported back to the days when love held magic, this film will keep you great company on a weekend with your two other pals: Ben and Jerry. Sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy.

Meet the very serious Jane Claremont (Alyssa Milano, TV's "Charmed"). A perfect planner, she works as the always-in-control manager of the theater owned by her mother Vivian (Stockard Channing, TV's "The West Wing"). Engaged to the handsome, successful actor Hugh (Ivan Sergei, The Break-Up), Jane's got a plan for everything - until the unexpected return of her childhood imaginary friend, Michael (Eric Winter, TV's "Days of Our Lives"). She hasn't seen Michael since one fateful day at Tiffany's when she was ten years old. Now he's back, making her doubt her sanity while rediscovering joy, innocence and creativity. Jane thought she had life all figured out... but thanks to Michael, she's about to reimagine everything. From the best-sellerby beloved authors James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet comes a love story like no other.

Made Of Honor

It is no secret that I advocate romance comedies in all its simplistic glory. Truly, I am one of the last few true blue romantics. The head-in-the-cloud, bubblegum, cookie cutter, cue in a happy Natalie Cole song in the background while I float on thinking of which scenes to put in a montage type of romantic. I will try any rom-com flick, be it one that came out 6 decades ago, or one that came out 6 days ago. And so, against my better judgment, I put on Made Of Honor because it is one of the very few ones that I couldn't bring myself to sit through. This god-awful film is really the reason why one of my favorite genres is looked at so appallingly in most circles. Phoooey! Patrick Dempsey, whom I loved in Sweet Home Alabama, really scraped the barrel with this one. Made Of Honor is a poor man's version of My Bestfriend's Wedding and is severely lacking in the magic its predecessor held.

A handsome and successful bachelor is taken aback when his dream girl asks him to be the "maid" of honor in her upcoming wedding in this romantic comedy starring Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan. Tom (Dempsey) and Hannah (Monaghan) have been best friends for years. Though all the hard times, Hannah has been the one constant in Tom's life, and the one person he knows he can always rely on. When Hannah leaves for a six-week business trip in Scotland, Tom is surprised to realize how truly lonely he is without her. Life just isn't the same without Hannah around, so the moment she returns, Tom resolves to ask for her hand in marriage. But apparently Hannah's trip wasn't all business, because upon returning home Hannah announces that she has gotten engaged to a dashing Scotsman and will soon be starting a new life overseas. She's convinced that Tom will be thrilled for her, and wants him to play a crucial role in the wedding. His spirits crushed but his love for Hannah stronger than ever before, Tom reluctantly agrees to be the "maid" of honor so that he can prove his love in no uncertain terms and convince her to call off the wedding before true happiness slips through his fingers.