Hope Springs (2003)

"Hope Springs" is a romcom about a forlorn and jilted English artist (Firth) who travels to a rural New England community where he falls for a babe (Graham) only to find his ex-girlfriend from the UK (Driver) is hot on the trail of reconciliation. The result is a flat, insipid, silly tale of a man caught between two women which fails at delivering quality in either romance or comedy and creates characters who aren't even very likeable. The film has its moments though they're few and far between, good production value, and the camera is in focus throughout. Beyond that there's little good which can be said of this very ordinary film which grows annoying as time wears on and will work best, if at all, for fans of the players, romcom junkies, and sentimentalists. (C)

Fmovies: Okay, this is not the best movie ever made--even Colin Firth could not make it into a blockbuster hit. Nonetheless, it is quirky, fun and funny movie that is worth renting.

I read the book, New Cardiff, before seeing the movie and I have to admit, the movie captured the spirit of the book very well. Every character in the book came to life on the big screen through the cast. I loved Firth's portrayal of Colin, the artist, and his little dance in the movie. Minnie Driver's character was the most awful and annoying person ever and she does a great job of bring that to life. It is funny and, like I mentioned before, very quirky. Sure, the ending is not the most realistic but that was how the book went. I actually recommend reading the book before seeing the movie. It prepares you well for what the movie is about, just in case you had high hopes for it being an obviously fabulous movie. Instead, you will learn to like it, for all of its eccentricity.

British artist, broken-hearted over the dissolution of his engagement to a brash Welsh sexpot, comes to America to relieve his sorrows; he picks the city of Hope ("18,459 people live in Hope") to begin a series of charcoal sketches on the locals, and naturally meets a new girl anxious to help him get over his lost love. Writer-director Mark Herman, adapting his script from the novel "New Cardiff" by Charles Webb (author of "The Graduate"), begins his film with a few "Graduate"-styled visual touches which are quite clever (see if you can find them). His use of soundtrack music is a bit jarring, and the editing seems flagrantly sloppy in the movie's early stages, but these faults are quickly corrected as the characters take shape. In the lead, Colin Firth works his scruffy adorableness to wonderful advantage; with his slightly crooked mouth and low-keyed impatience, he's amusingly antsy and befuddled. The ladies in his life (Heather Graham and Minnie Driver) compliment Firth nicely, while the screwballs who dot the supporting cast are enjoyable without being overtly colorful. We've been down this road before (boy-loses-girl, boy-meets-new-girl, first-girl-comes-back), and a story thread involving a faked family tree doesn't quite come to fruition, but the rest of "Hope Springs" is daffy, frisky, and often funny. *** from ****

Hope Springs fmovies. This is a charming movie. It is in places very funny. Minnie Driver, as always, is excellent, a joy to watch. Colin Firth does his agreeable Colin Firth impersonation and the American girl is fluffy and sweet. I loved Mary Steenburgen doing a vulgar part and Oliver Platt always adds vim. I rather think this is a movie for bookish people with a night off, but there aren't enough of those about. It doesn't fill the screen quite, but it is certainly a feature rather than a TV movie. I like the Anglo-American tint to it: there seem to be no glaring cultural gaffes. We even get Marks and Spencers mentioned. Intelligent, engaging and funny. 7 out of 10 because only God gets 10 and only The Third Man and Casablanca get 9.

I finally saw the film!! It was a delightful subtle piece of filmmaking. The movie is based on the book(New Cardiff) by author Charles Webb, of "The Graduate" fame. Mark Hermann, doing double duty as screenwriter and director, does an adequate job of translating the book to film.

Colin Firth is on the money as Colin Ware, a jilted artist who comes to America to forget his romantic troubles. He jumps out of the fire and into the frying pan, so to speak. By virtue of the hotel manager, he finds a new romantic interest in Heather Graham who plays Mandy, a 'caregiver' by trade. He gets acquainted with this quirky little town whether he wants to or not.

He starts to do portraits of the townsfolk. I found these portrait scenes to be quite entertaining. All is well until now ex-fiancee Vera reappears on the scene in Hope. There is good caustic interplay between Mandy and Vera in their fight over the same man.

Good performances from great ensemble cast made of up Oliver Platt, the Mayor of Hope, Mary Steenburgen as oh-so-tacky matchmaking Hotel manager and Frank Collison as her eccentric husband.

If you are looking for something more subtle than this summer's blockbuster fare, try this delightful little gem of a film! You won't be disappointed.

P.S. For Colin fans out there, he looks gorgeous! I can't wait for the DVD to appreciate him in all his glory.

Michele

I can't believe that some of the comments in here say it's the worst film ever. It's a cute, amusing little number which has some very funny lines in it (none of which appear in IMDb "memorable quotes" - which they *should*).

My only complaint is that Colin Firth appears to have forgotten to act. Minnie Driver is her usual sparkling evil self, and Heather Graham is her usual naked chicklet self. What more could you people want?

Incidentally, I saw "Love Actually" earlier in the same day, and preferred "Hope Springs".

Well - *I* liked it. 7/10 for pure entertainment value.