Yeah, I was unwhelmed and disappointed, though it was quite a pick-me-up after watching Blackpool (why does David Tennant's characters keep winding up in affairs with married women?). I appreciate that they were trying to avoid the common tropes in a comedy/romantic comedy, but something did fall flat.
The acting was great! No qualms about it! Plus the actor "reunions" from Doctor Who were fun! But... it's like there were plot points flying all over the place.
-Did Bev ever talk to her daughter about the deplorable fact that she stole from her?
-He sent her the smurf... that it? I thought she'd put it on her dash and use it to keep calm when next taking her test, but the plot point was dropped.
-Chris liked Fiona...why? 'Cuz she was hot? They were very keen to point how how Christian he was and that she was Buddhist, but then aside from him apparently praying a couple of times, it never came up again.
-Also while on the topic of Chris and Fiona, we didn't get any sort of reconciliation or admission of
feelings or anything that would make us think these two would work out.
-Speaking of working out, it was clear Bev's marriage wasn't working well. Hell, she tried to run him over. But then the thing with the owls happens and they're suddenly happy? I can understand their heart-to-heart maybe opening some doors, but it was sudden and it's like... it felt they needed more than just that to get her from clearly miserable to happy to have her family.
-Maybe I'm not used to small communities, but I find it weird how almost everyone knew who everyone else in the movie was.
-I can't pinpoint it, but it feels like there was something with the way Chris and Bev interacted that indicated they were definitely better together than with their respective partners. It started us down that road and suddenly diverged, no pun(s) intended.
I guess a lot of it boils down to "there should have been a scene here, a transition here, a telling shot here, character development here," etc. Too much potential squeezed into a 1:20 TV special that squeezed through the pores.
It was a great concept, too! As someone who was paralyzed with fear upon learning how to drive, I can definitely relate, especially when you've got someone yelling at you what to do instead of staying calm and being encouraging. It could've taken it so much further. Maybe someday someone can nab this script, polish it a bit, and make another movie of it somewhere, I dunno. But that's what I think it really needed:
Polish. The script needed serious polishing. Cut out some unneeded or forgotten conversations. Snip out a few characters where one could fill the role. Develop interactions better. KEEP the great unsuspected ending of "unhappy housewife actually gets happy and doesn't have an affair" thing, but develop it further. Put more emphasis on the interpersonal themes of the movie. Don't place all bets in the script on the concept.
Just my two cents.
P.S. I'm resisting the urge to list every bit in a scene that felt like a Checkov's Gun (tvtropes.org it) that was dropped, but then we'd be here a really long time.
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You can spend the rest of your life with me but I cant spend the rest of mine with you.
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