MovieChat Forums > Food of Love (2002) Discussion > What a load!

What a load!

posted 16 years ago by violachild2002
2 replies | jump to latest

I came across this mother on late night TV last night, and what caught my attention right away was the horrific acting and the atrocious directing, I had to keep watching the train wreck come to its awful conclusion, but I couldn't even stay to the very end, when the naming of the stars scene came up as if the son was a little innocent boy again, made me want to puke. I couldn't believe some of the actors who are generally good, looked totally uncomfortable mouthing the dialogue, Paul Rhys for one. Geraldine McEwan veering from Russian to a Scottich accent was a hoot to watch for the comedy. Juliet Stevenson was melodramatic to the extreme I wanted to scream. The only one who had his head a little bit above water was the son, but even he looked as if he was in another film. The title was even excruciating. worth a look for a laugh, although I see by other posters some people enjoyed it. I'm not taking away from the story which had some good emotional points on which one could identify, and if you wanted to make a movie about the torture of a gay man with a suffocating mother, here it is.

[–] jacquelinekennedy 16 years ago

Just watched it, and I'm afraid I agree with all your (very amusingly-written) points.

Especially true is "he looked as if he was in another film", about Bishop. Not the character himself, but the actual actor.

What really jarred me, was the piano playing and the American caricatures.

The first even non piano-players can sense, as you can see the hands are not in synch with the music (as well as the kiddie 1st year piece played by Bishop to McEwan when he's supposed to be prepping his skills at Juilliard).

But the second is truly annoying.

One can only think these accents by the British cast are anything approaching American, if you yourself are not American.

That's also true of American actors who play British characters in film, of course -- but since I have seen SO MANY comments on how well the accents sounded, I just have to mention this. I think one of the reviewers mentioned that Bishop was going for a Midwest accent (Ohio), whereas Stevenson was doing a vague California accent, and Corduner a slapdash Brooklynese (the character was supposed to be from Queens, which he uttered with an ironic giggle).

That's spot on.

THANKFULLY, Rhys was left with his natural accent, but I have a sneaking suspicion this was due to the chillingly seductive quality which "British" accents are supposed to have on non-Brits -- it adds to the class of the man, I presume Pons is wanting to evoke.

Also laughable was the way young Bishop was costumed in this film. Again, one of the reviewers got it just right by saying he looked like a Southern frat boy in the '80s.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if when he passes, Pons is found to have possessed a copy of "The Preppy Handbook".

And what can one say about Stevenson?

No American woman would act that way, and not have been prescribed horse tranquilisers by her age. Her girlfriends would've seen to it.

Oy. This film had so much potential. It's not unwatcheable, and possibly, that's what makes it SO frustrating.

[–] BILLYBOY-10 16 years ago

Absomalutely--This thing was only good when the credits rolled. I see a lot of posts how poor innocent Paul was used. HAH, he used everyone in sight and played the innocent wide-eyed Lolita. Then when Miss Marple told him he had no talent he settled for geezer dinner parties until his dippy mom came around to rescue him so they could lie on the bed and gawk at plastic stars on the ceiling together...creepy.