Bed & Breakfast

Bed and Breakfast was made back in 1989 but only got a limited release in 1992, I haven't seen it on video or DVD but I managed to catch it on an afternoon on British TV.

It's one of the only Roger Moore films I hadn't seen, so it was a joy to see him here in his first post Bond film (he seemed to semi-retire after A View to a Kill). He's always had a knack of looking ten years younger than what he really was so he's well cast as a healthy tanned charming English gent(but of course)who enters the lives of 3 generations of women, a widow, Talia Shire, her mother in law, Colleen Dewhurst and daughter, Nina Siemasko, when he's washed ashore mysteriously.

We know that he's in some sort of trouble as there's a rather badly staged scene where he's being beaten up and thrown overboard a yacht, but to the three women, he a breath of fresh air to their individually frustrated lives. Claiming he has Amnesia to avoid explaining his situation the women welcome him into their coastal guest house where he begins to recieve free board and food if he agrees to be the man about the house and fix up the place.

This is quite a gentle small scale picture with good performances and it proves that Moore has got genuine charm rather than depending on his ultra smooth or sleazy Bond style approach. This is not Oscar worthy stuff but this forgotten little gem should be given more recognition and Moore should be considered a better actor than he usually is.

The fault of this movie lies though with the lack of thrills, it is obviously a romantic tale, but we don't seem to discover what Moore's character is really up to and the ending seems a little half hearted..

Roger Moore, my fave Bond, finally gets a chance to show his acting chops. This flick is about a mysterious stranger who comes into the lives of three very different women and has a gorgeous Maine setting.

The only weak point is an out of place crime subplot. But it's wrapped up not too shabbily by the cast, director, and screenwriter. The screenplay could've been better, but all in all it's a mildly amusing, slight, harmless movie.

This film made me also realize that actor Jake Weber, who plays a hitman in this film, was not Alan Cumming. I always thought Alan was the guy from Meet Joe Black. They look so much alike, I guess it was easy for me to confuse them as the same dude.

I just wish old Rog would do some more dramatic roles in films like this. I always thought it would be great if Stanley Kubrick had cast Roger in Sydney Pollack's role in Eyes Wide Shut. Kinda like how Quentin Tarantino took a chance on Robert Forester, another under appreciated actor, in Jackie Brown. Ah, well, what might have been...

But I, as usual, well, not that usual, digress. See Bed & Breakfast. Dig?

This light comedy romance has the interesting clash of cultural differences and an easy to understand authentic Brazilian actress portraying a Brazilian character (though her presence in American films has been extremely limited). Her physical appearance doesn't quite rise to the level of extremely gorgeous or beautiful like those of Salma Heyak or Jennifer Lopez., at least as she was made up for this film. Dean Cain performs as he usually does with typical confidence. Both principles offer up a nice screen presence. The storyline is slightly different from many romantic comedies though nothing like a break out. All the supporting cast blend well into the movie's plot and make nice contributions of their own. An entertaining and likeable movie. For a similar contrast see Bottle Shock (2008) that focuses on wine and romance along with a bit of English/French/British tone or a romantic drama Walk in the Clouds (1995) with Keanu Reeves who portrays a returning soldier who impersonates a fiancée so that a woman he just met wouldn't have to face humiliation in front of her father as she returns home.

I've got two favorite Robert Ellis Miller films - "Hawks" (featuring Timothy Dalton) and "Bed & Breakfast" (featuring Roger Moore , Colleen Dewhurst and Talia Shire) which originally was considered as a TV movie , but it was found very interesting so it was shown at cinemas. (The film was made in 1989 but it was first shown in 1992.)I'm not surprised because it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. Whole cast is just great but especially Roger Moore who proves that he's someone more than the Saint or Bond. He's a great actor.

Claire is a widower with a teenage daughter Cassie who runs a hotel with her mother in law, Ruth. Claire is trapped in an introspective world of mourning, Ruth longs for a man just to make her feel young again while Cassie is just discovering the world of sex and love. Into this mix comes a man who survived being thrown off a boat many miles out to sea. Adam settles in nicely but the men who thought he was dead are still after him.

I didn't have high hopes for this and it didn't let me down. The plot is very light despite the efforts to give it some drama with the crime subplot. However this subplot is a very damp squib indeed and climaxes with all the excitement and tension of a fart in a wet bag. The main story is the relationship between the three women and Adam, this is what should have made the film but this too is unconvincing for the most part. Adam affects them all in different ways and sparks things in each of them, however it is very sedentary and gets a bit dull after a while.

If the romance and the relationships had had a little more sparkle to them then it would have been a lot better, as it is only Dewhurst manages to bring some fire to her role but even then it seems very OTT and hammy in the middle of so much quietness. Moore is actually very good but only because he looks like he's got his tongue in his cheek the whole time with that constantly raised eyebrow! But he is nicely understated and doesn't make fun of the film so much as enjoy it's gentle pace. Oh – and how does he always manage to look 15 years younger than he is!?

Siemaszko is OK but has little to do but throw teenage strops etc. Shire meanwhile just takes it too seriously. This could have been a light romantic drama but instead she drags it's mood way down. She spends too much of the film sitting and staring into space looking sad. While Moore tries to be tanned and lively she just looks pale and sad. I know that her character demanded some of that in the role, but too much starts to sink the enjoyment a bit.

Overall I have to say that this is an average film that will probably only appeal to Moore complete-ists or those whose standard for entertainment starts and ends with daytime TV movies. It has a nice romantic, fun side to it but this edge is dulled by the majority of the film.