La gran seducción

'THE GRAND SEDUCTION': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Comedy flick about a small harbor community, in Newfoundland, who try to seduce a plastic surgeon, from a major Canadian city, into being their doctor. It's an English-speaking remake of the 2003 French-Canadian film 'LA GRANDE SEDUCTION' (which was set on the coast of Quebec). It was written by Michael Dowse and Ken Scott (the original movie's writer) and directed by Don McKellar. The film stars Brendan Gleeson and Taylor Kitsch (of 'JOHN CARTER', 'LONE SURVIVOR' and 'FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS' fame). I found the movie to be pretty silly at times but still funny and ultimately uplifting.

The story begins with Murray French (Gleeson) telling (through voice-over narration) how Tickle Head used to be a town of proud fishermen. Now nearly everyone is unemployed and collects welfare. Murray, like the other men of the town, desperately wants Tickle Head to secure a deal which would allow a chemical plant to be built there; this factory would create enough jobs for everyone. In order to do so they must have a community doctor. When Dr. Christopher Lewis (Kitsch) is stopped at the St. John's airport, with cocaine, the former mayor of Tickle Head (who is now a flight security agent) makes him a deal; Dr. Lewis must spend a month in Tickle Head as their doctor. It's up to Murray, and the whole town, to convince him to stay longer; which requires a lot of lying and seduction.

The movie isn't original at all; it reminds me of many other films, about small towns and trickery (most notably 'WAKING NED DEVINE'). A lot of the humor in it is pretty cheesy and some of the characters seem exaggerated. Still the movie does have a lot of character, and charm, and parts of it are pretty funny. The performances are great and, in the end, I really did care about the characters; the sentimentality of the film is what doesn't feel cheesy (unlike a lot of the jokes). That's why I liked it.

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This is a gentle movie, filled with gentle humour that brought smiles of delight to every one of our group of six. The scenes of the Newfoundland coast were breath taking. A great little story about a community struggling for survival. Another reviewer was dismayed by all of the citizens lining up for their welfare cheques. An exaggeration yes, because it is a film, but the key message he missed was how noble and honest, despite their desperate scam, the people of Newfoundland are. When I took my family for a vacation in Newfoundland we were mightily impressed by the scenic beauty but even more impressed by its people and their genuine interest in others. It made us proud to be Canadian and this film makes me proud of the Canadian film industry.

A small harbour community in the Canadian province of Newfoundland once had an active fishing economy but now most residents are on welfare. There is a possibility of opening a factory in the region but one of the conditions is that the community must have a resident physician. When a city doctor must spend a month in the community, the residents do all they can to "seduce" the doctor into staying even if that means lying through their teeth.

This film is a remake from a Quebec French-language comedy, "Seducing Dr. Lewis" in 2003. Having seen the first film, the surprise element was missing for me for some parts of the story but this current version is as warm and charming as the original. The story is very far-fetched especially the ending but within its own content, it strangely comes off as believable.

There was a missed opportunity for more exposure of one character: an attractive, lone-wolf postmistress who is better off than those around her due to her government salary and benefits. In one scene, her position of relative privilege causes her to be unintentionally indifferent to the plight of those around her. Had this element been expanded, it would have been very relevant in our current times. Instead, the character, whose appearances are rare, was used by other residents as a "pretty girly-girl" to be one of the ways to seduce the doctor.

Despite this misgiving, this film, like the original version, has many enjoyable moments. The characters are quirky but likeable and there is never an attitude of condescension toward them. It's also pleasant but rare to see stories of rural people doing their best to live well within their means. And the landscapes of coastal Newfoundland are truly breathtaking. - dbamateurcritic.

Tickle Head, a harbour in Newfoundland, has 125 souls who live mostly off welfare cheques now that the cod is gone. After his wife and even the mayor leave for work in St John's, Murray (Brendan Gleeson) thinks up a grand scheme to seduce a doctor to come live in the village. An oil company is looking to build a high-tech plant in the area, but one of the requirements is that the town have a doctor. To get the plant, they also have to get more people and get the cash together for a bribe.

They force young Paul Lewis (Taylor Kitsch) to come to the village and then try their hardest to please him so that he'll stay. However, it turns out the doctor is into jazz and cricket, cannot fish at all, and has a fiancée back home. Will their plan work?

This movie worked for me for a number of reasons. Gleeson holds the movie together with a superb performance. The scenery (filmed in Trinity) is gorgeous. The same could be said for Taylor Kitsch, who exudes magnetism and amiability in every scene. He can obviously act but I suspect he was just playing himself in this movie.

Inevitably much of the gentle and sometimes ribald humour revolves around the eccentric characteristics of the rural villagers. I don't know how accurate the bumbling Newfie hick thing is, but Gordon Pinsent and the rest played it to the hilt.

The movie went too far a few times but regardless I enjoyed it. It's worth about 7.5 but I'll round it up. It's nice to see a non-Hollywood movie like this for a change.

A great movie with a stellar cast...was lucky to see the premiere during TIFF. I haven't laughed so much throughout a movie for a long time. In fact will have to see it again to catch all of the conversations as audience was laughing so much. Surprised to hear everyone breaking out in applause at various times during the movie. Very uplifting, well worth the price of admission. Gordon Pinsent and Brendan Gleeson's parts were my favorite characters, both superbly played by these talented actors. And Taylor Kitsch in the role of Dr. Lewis was the perfect straight man (handsome too). Congrats to writers Michael Dowse and Ken Scott for drawing attention to the plight of east coasters and treating a subject which could have been depressing with humor and compassion. Kudos too to Don McKellar for his directing accomplishment.