Susan Granger’s review of “The Grand Seduction” (eOne Films)
If you enjoyed “Waking Ned Devine,” “Calendar Girls” and “The Full Monty,” you’ll be amused by this charming comedy set in picturesque Newfoundland, Canada.
Times are tough in the tiny harbor of Tickle Head, where once-proud fishermen are out of work. As narrator Murray French (Brendan Gleeson) notes, a cod moratorium ended their livelihood. Shamefacedly, they line up each week to collect their welfare checks from the postmistress (Liane Balaban). It’s decidedly depressing, but there’s hope. A “petrochemical byproduct repurposing facility” may open, and a factory means jobs, lots of jobs – for everyone. The stumbling block is that the oil company’s insurance requires that Tickle Head have a resident doctor – which it doesn’t.
Acting as Mayor, burly Murray puts out the word to everyone: “Find a doctor.” Coincidentally, Paul Lewis (Taylor Kitsch), a slick, 29 year-old plastic surgeon is caught with cocaine in his carry-on at St. Johns airport and dispatched by a customs officer from Tickle Head to spend one month of community service there. During that time, it’s up to the civic-minded locals to convince Paul to not only to stay but also to sign a five-year contract. Immediately, houses are spruced up and the trash stashed away. Paul is an avid cricket fan, so the menfolk pretend to share his passion. Eavesdropping on his phone calls to his fiancée, the phone operator (Mary Walsh) learns that he likes Indian lamb dhansak, so it’s suddenly on the chowder house menu. Since Paul’s father died when he was young, Murray takes him out in a dinghy and patiently teaches him how to fish while an old codger (Simon Pinsent) makes sure he gets a sizeable catch. But how long can this charade continue in the small harbor with a big heart?
Adapted by Ken Scott and Michael Dowse from a 2003 Quebecois film, “Seducing Dr. Lewis” by Jean-Francois Pouliot, director Don McKellar comes up with low-key, far-fetched fun.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Grand Seduction” is a scheming 6, filled with breezy Irish blarney.
