MovieChat Forums > Hope Springs (2003) Discussion > Hope Springs Is Not Actually A Film

Hope Springs Is Not Actually A Film


Hope Springs is not actually a film...it's shot on film, but it's really just a few big name actors walking around talking non-sense with a bad soundtrack added. I find it incredibly difficult to believe people actually like this film. It's repugnant...and I'm not even a movie snob!!! The question is...has anybody taken anything away from this film besides a bad case of diarrhea? It's terrible. I would like the people who like this film to briefly mention a few other of their favorite films...just so the rest of us can have a frame of reference as to what tastes prefer this type of film. It might help resolve a few issues...thanx!

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Nope, I'm with you--I hated every second of it. Heather Graham jumping around in her underclothes was appealing for about 6 seconds, but other than that, it was total rubbish. My favourite movie? Either 'The Godfather' or...hmmmm, hard to choose...'Dancer in the Dark'...'Casablanca'...'High Fidelity'...sorry, I've got decent taste...that wasn't what you were looking for. Cheers to you for calling it like it is.

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[deleted]

I appreciate the fact that you may enjoy this film and hence disagree with the negative assessments you read above. However, every piece of art (film, story, etc) will evoke different responses in different people, which allows any person to criticise a film in any way they see fit. There is no right or wrong (...has no one told you about 'post-modernism' yet?) Nevertheless, the four people with whom I watched 'Hope Springs' all thought it a total waste of time, and between the four of us, some quite diverse cinematic tastes are represented. Still, you have every right to disagree, but NEVER have you the right to tell someone their opinion is not valid.
Thank you and have a nice day.

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[deleted]

actually, i believe that there is such a thing as an invalid opinion, and that's believing this movie is anything other than proof that pure evil exists and it wants us to suffer.

seeing as there are some rather earnest post-modernists on this board i've backed up my statement with a quote from jacques derrida in his new foreword to 'the gift of death": "egads, 'hope springs' is objectively the worst movie ever made."

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I personally have no significant opinion on the worth of this film above saying that it required no more investment from me than placing my brain in neutral for 88 minutes of my life. Other than that, I don't think it warrants much discussion at all.

Now that said, I have to disagree with you and just about every self-appointed film critic that exists or has existed. YOUR OPINIONS HAVE VALIDITY BUT ONLY TO YOURSELVES AND PERHAPS TO THOSE WHO ARE EITHER GULLIBLE ENOUGH TO ACCEPT YOURS OR TOO STUPID TO FORM THEIR OWN.

Having opinions about any film's quality is quite acceptable. Voicing that opinion, especially about someone else's work, without having attempted any of their own, has got to be the most arrogant, self-righteous, egotistical thing imaginable.

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"There is no right or wrong"

While there may be no right or wrong as far as opinions go, there is certainly a right or wrong as far as critical frameworks go. Of course, they are established with regard to a social context that may not apply fifty years from now, but there are still some standards any film critic must take note of. Otherwise people could just make the film "My Dog", show a black screen for an hour, and say there's no right or wrong when critics hail it as a dismal failure.

"Having opinions about any film's quality is quite acceptable. Voicing that opinion, especially about someone else's work, without having attempted any of their own, has got to be the most arrogant, self-righteous, egotistical thing imaginable."

Yes! Yes! Those idiots over at Empire magazine- burn them! Go dig up Leslie Halliwell- he needs burning some more before he can rest in peace! How dare he voice a critical opinion in many many legendary books! That Pauline Kael- what an egotistical whorebag! Burn her!

And now I am going to go make the opus "My Dog", so that I may be able to pass judgement on the masterpiece of cinema that is Hope Springs.

Okay I've made it. Hope Springs is a mediocre film at best. Its central female characters are hopeless cliches, it's poorly written, has no momentum, and lacks any of the prerequisites required for good comedy.

You can still LIKE the film. But liking it won't make it good. I like the film The Mirror Has Two Faces- in fact, I love it. But I know that objecively speaking, it is not a good film.

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So you didn't understand the concept of "I don't think it warrants much discussion at all". This film was no better or worse than 99.9999999% of the crap that Hollywood spews forth every year so when it comes to discussion of all that crap other than perhaps in general terms, I just keep thinking "Who cares what anybody else thinks"!

On the subject of professional critics, they are an even bigger waste of space than movie producers. Their opinions have validity for only one person on the planet: themselves. You list some names, I assume, people of some celebrity, noted for voicing an opinion of a particular film's worth. Once again, "who cares what they think"!

Exposing some filmstock to light, still does not give your opinion on any film any value except perhaps to yourself but as far as my opinion on that is concerned, "who cares what I think"!

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"So you didn't understand the concept of "I don't think it warrants much discussion at all"."

So you didn't understand the concept of anything, ever. Evidenced by the quote, below:

"On the subject of professional critics, they are an even bigger waste of space than movie producers. Their opinions have validity for only one person on the planet: themselves."

Let me politely rephrase- their opinion only has invalidity for a certain sort of person. The sort of person that cannot accept that something can be as bad as "My Dog". Enjoy watching My Dog and My Dog only for the rest of your natural life- if you cannot be bothered to critically interrogate something or pay attention when someone else does, that's all you deserve.

"Exposing some filmstock to light, still does not give your opinion on any film any value except perhaps to yourself but as far as my opinion on that is concerned, "who cares what I think"!"

So your position is- no ones opinion counts towards anything, ever. There's no such as thing as a critical framework or critical analysis. I would say how post modern of you, but since the consideration of post modernism requires an opinion and an assessment of other people's opinions, I fear it would be wasted on you.

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I don't know anything about post, past or pissed modernism. My position is that no-one's opinion has any validity except for themselves. For instance, you might tell me you don't like a given film stating that the acting was bad, the direction meandering and the writing too convoluted. I take that on board and accept that you didn't like it for what you perceive are good reasons but they may not be important to me or affect my enjoyment of a given film.

No professional critic whether it be of art, literature or film has ever produced any opinion of any validity to anybody but to themselves and those too weak minded to form one of there own. Anybody who believes that their taste (which is what it all comes down to eventually) is of more value than someone else's is just a pretentious snob who may as well waffle on about how a particular housepainter paints a house. Most of those wankers rave about how poorly someone performed when what they really meant was that they didn't like and couldn't relate to the story. This is evidenced by how often one tabloid critic will praise a given film while another will denigrate it to all and sundry. Oh and sometimes they like a film because someone has paid them to like it, which of course makes their view of little worth to themselves either. Just think of all the great films of the past that were not well received by the critics of the day but have now become classics the world over. Now think of all the films that the critics raved about, that have sunk into oblivion.

When it comes to your opinion about a film, I don't care? When it comes to my opinion about a film, you shouldn't care? When it comes to a professional critic's opinion about a film, you should completely ignore it except maybe to ascertain session times. I don't know if that is post-modern, I do know it's common sense.

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Hee hee hee!

"My position is that no-one's opinion has any validity except for themselves."

You do realise what you're saying there, don't you? I guess not. Everything you've just written is rendered meaningless by that sentence. You may as well never post on this board, never discuss films, never try to comprehend the difference between subjectivity and objectivity. You have no position. There is no such thing as common sense to you, as you cannot even begin to accept the idea of a common standard. What "common" sense is there when people's opinions are only valid for themselves?

But let me make one thing clear: there is a difference between someone's opinion, and objective critical analysis. If you cannot understand the difference, or accept that there may be a difference, then what more can possibly be said? Apart from:

Hee hee hee.

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A few of my favorite films? The Graduate, Wait Until Dark, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Sweet Hereafter, The Music Man, Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Rebecca, Psycho, Cat Ballou, Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, My Fair Lady...

And yes, despite having read your extremely negative review ahead of time, I enjoyed this movie. It was funny and entertaining and had a happy ending, and it didn't have bloody violence, graphic sex, and a lot of unnecessary "adult" language.

And I have two more words to say--Colin Firth!

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Hi Greg,

Unfortunately I have to agree with you. I was waiting sometime for its release and was quite disappointed. I didn't HATE it, but it was really lacking in many respects. The plot itself isn't terrible. The book was an enjoyable read. It was full of humor and excellent character sketches. However, when translated to the big screen, it just doesn't work. I love Firth and Driver, but have always found Graham a tad annoying. She doesn't bother me in this film. She is likeable in her ditziness, but there is no reason for me (as the viewer) to believe that Colin (Ware or Firth) would ever fall for her. Vera, although spoiled and nicotine-addicted, was much more appealing to me, because at least she seems to have some depth and intelligence. It needed more development. The characters are good, but you don't get enough time with them. I wish that I would have rented it before giving Borders 26 bucks for it.

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Greg, SirBrannon and jvoswald i'm all with you. (PS jv lol with your Derrida 'quote'). This is a work of wicked mediocrity, plunging lower into the dis of cinema than any I've had the misfortune to witness (and that includes 'The Saint'). Terrible terrible movie, the worst I've ever seen. REALLY. That bad... God Jesus help us...

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I thought it was a cute movie, and Firth is excellent in the romance/comedy genre.

If you really want to know, some of my favorite movies are: The Princess and the Warrior, The Party, The Crying Game, GoldenEye, The Fifth Element, Scream, Run Lola Run, and Mulholland Dr. I don't even know what that proves, other than the fact that I have great taste in movies, and that I like watching all genres.


"Enjoy it while it lasts." - Xenia, GoldenEye

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Wouldn't you think that in the course of making a movie hundreds of people would get to hear the dialog and thus pick up on a stupid, obvious mistake uttered in the very first line? As anyone who has ever taken an art class should know, pencils are numbered according to hardness, not size. It would be slightly more excusable if the character were anything but a supposed professional portrait artist.
You expect to see this kind of ignorance on TV, not in a major Hollywood movie.

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I liked this film a lot. You want to know some of my favorite films? How about I give you my top 20:

020. My Man Godfrey (La Cava, 1936)
019. Wait Until Dark (Young, 1967)
018. Cabaret (Fosse, 1972)
017. Notorious (Hitchcock, 1946)
016. The Elephant Man (Lynch, 1980)
015. As You Desire Me (Fitzmaurice, 1932)
014. Belle de Jour (Bunuel, 1967)
013. Suspicion (Hitchcock, 1941)
012. Breakfast at Tiffany's (Edwards, 1961)
011. Magnolia (Anderson, 1999)
010. The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946)
009. All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950)
008. Cinema Paradiso (Tornatore, 1988)
007. Blue Velvet (Lynch, 1986)
006. The Sweet Hereafter (Egoyan, 1996)
005. 12 Monkeys (Gilliam, 1995)
004. Grand Hotel (Goulding, 1932)
003. Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940)
002. Mulholland Drive (Lynch, 2000)
001. The Last Time I Committed Suicide (Kay, 1997)

May we see some of your favorite films, please?

It's just a simple rom com, nothing more. It's harmless, cute fluff.

~Katie~

I want to be alone... ~Garbo~

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This movie was crap. I didn't even finish watching it.

I rented it because it had Colin Firth and I enjoy romantic comedies. I couldn't believe how UNinteresting it was.

And could Heather Graham be WORSE?? God, the girl can't act...I know she was trying to be a quirky free spirit, but she was just BAD.

Colin....Colin, Colin...choose your films wisely.



"The first thing you lose on a diet is brain mass"

-Margaret Cho

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Yeah, Heater Graham is just terrible.

I remember seeing her on Twin Peaks and thinking "Oh god, she sucks."

Somehow she's managed to get even worse.

I thought Minnie Driver was great, though.

~Katie~

I want to be alone... ~Garbo~

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[deleted]

Yeah, I agree, it wasn't really a movie at all... It was just a great cast running around saying nothing and telling no real story. The "villain" turned out to be the preferrable option, the female love interest was psychotic and schizophrenic, and the male lead was inconsistent and uninteresting (even though I do think Firth is an awesome actor with decent material...).

After it ended, I was just saying to my friend... "WHA???"

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Heather was just plain BIZARRE! I mean, helping a guy out, then getting drunk, stripping in front of a guy she doesn't know, and then falling in love with him? Yeah, right. Although, Colin was TERRIFIC! And Minnie Driver is too good for words!

I hate myself sometimes, I love myself, I need this way of life because it holds me-Taproot, I

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Okay I enjoyed this film and there are a few points I would like to make:

a) Whilst it isn't one of Colin's best films, I didn't think it was that bad, I liked it, believe me i've seen a lot worse. And even Colin said in an interview that it didn't turn out as they hoped. I don't hold anything against Colin for doing this film, at the end of the day he decided to give it a go and do the best he could with a weak script, whilst that wasn't up to scratch his acting certainly was.

b) Having just read New Cardiff (the book on which the film is based)almost everything seen in the film is taken from the book. The only differences are that in the book the some of the events take place in different locations to that of the film and the scarf scene isn't in the book. Other than that the characters and places we see in the film are directly lifted from the book, so is much of the dialogue. Whilst it worked well as a piece of literature it wasn't strong enough to be adapted into a film. The film may have worked better if it didn't rigorously stick to the book. On another point the scene where Mandy gets drunk then strips and ends up in Colin's bed is directly lifted from the book. In no way do I blame the actors for this, personally I liked the film but have read many negative reviews about it. I also don't think any of them made a mistake when they decided to do this film, they gave it a go and did the best they could, and being a fan of Colin Firth I hold nothing against him for doing this.

c) this is a positive review I have just read on this site:
After reading all the negative posts I just had to see this movie. I have visited beautiful Hope B.C. and I really like Mr. Darcy(sorry, Colin Firth). Both I and my wife found this film quite entertaining and really liked all the quirky characters. At first I didn't quite get the bedroom dance but I attributed it to her being a caring person who felt she had to do something really extreme to cheer this man up. I liked the Minnie Driver character with her constant battle to smoke a cigarette. I guess if I had gone to film school I would have seen something to condemn but as just one who watches movies for fun, I really liked it.

So in my opinion it is a film made to entertain, not every film produced is going to be a sure hit! And as for other films I like well they include anything with Colin Firth - a fantastic and underrated actor...oh and totaly gorgeous!


If you want something done properly, kill Baldrick before you start.

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I loved it.

"I would like the people who like this film to briefly mention a few other of their favorite films"

How about "Brassed Off" and "Little Voice." Favorite of this decade: "Lincoln."

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