The Very Thought of You (1999)

AKA: The Very Thought Of YouThis has been done many times before. You take a basic fish-out-of-water story, and try to put your own spin to it, in an attempt to make it seem like a "fresh" idea, and hope no one notices.I'm happy to say that this time, it worked. Tom Hollander and Monica Potter are delightful as the would-be couple. Monica Potter is the fish out of water, as an ex-Minnesota resident cum Londoner.This is delightful, and quite smart in places, giving this production an overall slick execution, while not pushing the envelope so hard, as to detract from the work.This is quite enjoyable, in spite of the cliché level of the base premise. The two key performances are quite endearing and sweet. This one grabbed me, and pulled me in, in spite of myself.It rates a 7.2/10 from...the Fiend :.

Monica Potter is a wasted talent. She is charming, engaging, and has great comic timing. There are so many awful romantic comedies out there that I actually ignored this film on that basis alone for years.Then, one particularly uninspiring evening a friend lent a copy of it to me and I skeptically watched it. I was shocked, but in a good way. This movie is very intelligently written, has sharp, realistic dialogue, and allows you to escape with Marta (Monica Potter) as she searches for a new life in England.She ends up meeting three very different men.You are introduced to a grotesque, and creepy, self-loathing Rufus Sewell, a short,needy, and very badly dressed Tom Hollander.I was wondering what was going to happen if she ended up with either of them. Then you meet totally gorgeous Joseph Fiennes of (Shakespeare's In Love) fame.Hello?.Thankfully, these two have genuine chemistry. A weak point in many romantic comedies. The story has many clever plot twists, and the ending is satisfying, but not overly sweet. On the basis of it's stars lack of Hollywood status this film will never reach a full audience, but good word of mouth might get it some due notice.Check it out, I know you won't be disappointed, it's funny.

I really didn't expect much when I saw this movie. I was in full knowledge of it being a self-proclaimed 'British/American romantic comedy with a twist', whatever that means, but I honestly took my seat at the theatre half-expecting to sleep the way through it.Boy was I wrong!?!?This is not a flawless movie, far from it. On the downside it felt a way bit simple and sometimes dangerously close to becoming a generic movie but it actually did a great job in walking the tightrope.The pacing, it must be said, is brilliant as it does a great job of telling you full four stories and establishing multi-layered relationships between 3 best friends from Britain and a young woman from America with such ease that you feel like you've known them forever. The acting is spot on, although credit must be given to Rufus Sewell who owns this movie as the unfortunate Frank, whose "like me! like me!" plea warms my heart every time I see it!The music is great, the lighting is terrific and somehow, over a period of 30 minutes, this movie manages to create and establish a scenario so perfect that every man and woman will emerge from the cinema wishing they were there. Of course, not all is gold that glitters and as such the scenario more or less crumbles throughout the story but the main theme in the movie is this; it's there and if you keep your eyes open it just might happen to you.Of course, 'happen to you' is the easy part. What's hard is trying to make it work all the way, i.e. not just catching the ball but actually carrying it all the way into the end-zone. Which is where the story gets interesting.I advise anyone who doesn't have any prejudice against romantic comedies to go see this one, as it will surprise you. No, it's not the movie to end all movies, nor is it a piece that will change your outlook on life, but for 90 minutes it will make you forget about all your worries and just enjoy yourself: laugh, smile, hold hands, wish you were holding hands, feel loved or love someone or both, and eventually walk out into the real world feeling like you've experienced a piece of bliss that has made your day a good one.Give it a try, it's not big but it might bite you.4/5.

Yikes! Is Joseph Fiennes outstanding, or what??!!? Not only is he gorgeous, but he's the most talented, believable actor out right now. English actors are just IT for me. I'll take Joseph, Jude, Colin (Firth), Rufus, etc., over any of these American cookie cutter nonsense actors (Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg, etc). Joseph Fiennes is simply amazing! His eyes speak volumes. You feel as if you are gazing into his soul and... *ahem*... well, onto the story... This is a delightful and refreshing comedy. Even though the plot of three best friends falling for the same girl in less than two days is slightly unbelievable (aren't they all?), it still works. It was pulled off as realistically as it could be. Monica Potter's quirky character wasn't too annoying, which was a welcome change. With these types of movies, I am often left wondering, "What was so great about her?", but I didn't feel that way about Martha. Her converse sneakers had to go, and she drank too much, but she was charming nonetheless. Joseph, on the other hand... absolutely no complaints with him or his character, Lawrence, except to say that I wish he would have had even more screen time. Rufus was hilarious. He had some of the best lines in the movie. This review probably hasn't been too helpful, so I'll end in this way... this is one of the best modern romantic comedies I've seen in a long time. It's extremely witty, the acting was great, there was actually chemistry between all of the characters, the storyline is fairly original, Joseph Fiennes is in it, etc. So, take some time out to see it!