rossif

How can I put this nicely. I hate this movie. I loathe it. And

this is unusual for me, because I can get some enjoyment out of

most movies, and I will usually give anyone the benefit of the

doubt. I appreciate creativity and originality. I admire

talent and intelligence - whoops! wrong movie!. These awful

characters,spawned of a brainless script, are so sickeningly

sweet. Even the tarty John Leguizamo character unfortunately

develops a conscience in the tradition of the best American

family film - which by the way this is not! Call me picky -

but it's just impossible to buy this concept. OK - here's the

deal: 3 drag queens in full regalia and being pursued by the law,

suffer a car breakdown in a small rural American town, where

they are promptly adopted as guardian angels by the towns

populace. Fine! Now, where is the humour? Where is the bite?

(think "Priscilla" - so much of which is ripped off, but with no

panache at all) Where is the style, that may have lifted this

slightly above the dross that it is? These glamour babes are

so goody-goody that you could be forgiven for thinking you had

stumbled into some Mary Poppins Twilight Zone. And I have to

admit, there were several dreadful moments when I was just sure

Patrick Swayze was going to burst into song, and with a full

orchestra blazing away in the background, start skipping down

the street. Actually his performance and characterisation

particularly nauseated me, what with his Little-Miss-Fix-It

character, breezing into town and sticking her nose into

everybody's business and solving all their problems. Very

trite in every respect, and superficial beyond belief. Only the

intellectual giant portrayed by the usually flawless Stockard

Channing, has the slightest inkling as to the original gender of

her new friends. As for the rest of the town - are we to

believe that these simple country folk are too unsophisticated

to recognise a big burly man in a dress? Let's face it,

Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes are built like footballers, and

putting a dress on them, no matter how well tailored, no matter

how fabulously colour coordinated, does nothing to disguise

this simple fact. Most irritating moment of all - Patrick

Swayze declaring the day a "say something hat day" Pass me

that airsick bag !! Quick !!

What I hate about American comedy series is the perceived need for a punchline every 15 seconds. What I love about this series, is the gentle, ambling approach the script takes, as it follows its characters through their daily lives. And they are characters - wonderful ones - but never caricatures. Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer are just perfect in their portrayals, and they are ably supported by a talented cast. Every now and then there is a good, solid belly laugh to be had, but for the most part the humour is subtle and very clever. I feel very warm towards these characters. If they were real I think I should like to invite them to tea. Dench and Palmer appear to enjoy their roles, and when they exchange glances it seems to be not acting, but genuine regard that they show towards each other. May they live happily ever after...........

I always wanted to be a Brady. I could see myself flying down

that staircase in the morning to be handed my school lunch in a

brown paper bag by Florence Henderson. I thought the house

could manage 7 kids as easily as 6. That was my dream and my

aspiration. The thing was, I identified very strongly with

that show. I knew it was lame brained, even when I was the

same age as the youngest of the Brady kids. I also knew that

its heart was in the right place and it represented to me,

everything that I did not have. Of course, I was living in the

REAL world, and that is not always easy to take. Nearly 30

years later, I have fond feelings towards this series and

occasionally can be seen watching the inevitable reruns. Many

people feel the same as I do, I'm sure, so they must have done

something right.