I knew it was a true story, it was directed by Marielle Heller who I like after seeing Diary Of A Teenage Girl and it has been getting some Oscar buzz in a few categories. This also included a Best Leading Actress push for Melissa McCarthy.
That had me slightly unsure as I wouldn't call myself a fan. Apart from Bridesmaids and Spy, everything else McCarthy has been rather sub-standard in my opinion. However, I remained hopeful as I know this is the type of performance that is out of her comfort zone.
Those worries were quickly quashed, as not only was I completely engaged, I was also laughing as there is still some of McCarthy's comedic tropes. However, with the acting not been awkward or over-the-top, the comedy felt natural coming from her character.
Just when I thought we had one treat, in walks in Richard E. Grant. Goodness me does he make an entrance! That just set us up for some quality chemistry between the two, and it was a feast for the ears and eyes.
In the middle of that is a story that I was shocked to see as they were setting it up.
For the rest of the film, I just had a big smile on my face. Even when our characters were in their downfall part of the story, their characters were still putting on a brave face.
I can now see why McCarthy is getting the Oscar push, as well as Grant. This is a career best for both of them and I think Grant stole the show. His first scene in the film is such an entrance that I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This was quite the revitalisation from Grant
In fact, the entire cast did a great job no matter how small their screen-time was. Dolly Wells was a stand-out as her innocent portrayal really enhanced her characters sub-plot with McCarthy and felt it to be endearing.
I also have to mention the performances by Marc Evan Jackson, Ben Falcone, Gregory Korostishevsky and Brandon Scott Jones.
As well as the performances, the writing also has to be highly commended. The cleverly and imaginative written insults just had me laughing out loud and pretty consistently for the entire duration.
It wasn't just all about the gags, the emotional moments were also very well executed.
As for other aspects, the early 1990's time period looked spot on, the film takes place in a lot of book shops and you feel the decor anytime a scene took place in one of those stores.
No real negatives to speak of. So it was just a matter of how strong it's positives were.
I was impressed by so much of it. I was not expecting the strong performances by McCarthy and Grant, the regular amounts of strong comedy and the truly fascinating story. I love it when a film surprises and washes me my cautious approach.
Everything about it screams crowd-pleaser and I hope it gets the praise it deserves from the general audience.
Rating: 8/10
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