Wild About Harry (2000)

An Irish television chef with a great following, is going through a divorce. Harry McKee, married to Ruth for twenty five years, has found that in his celebrity status he forgot his good intentions for a good marriage and a nice family. Ruth feels betrayed by Harry's drinking and his philandering. His own children do not care for him; all they want is a quick settlement so he can be out of their lives. One night Harry, who has run out of cigarettes, goes to a convenience store and gets into a confrontation with a few rough guys. He gets kicked in the head, something that produces an injury that lands him in hospital. He falls into a coma from which he eventually wakes from. The only problem is he cannot remember much about his life with Ruth. Harry has to relearn to live with his condition, even though the divorce is still going on in the courts. Will he be able to reconcile himself with his past and mend his ways? If he wants to keep Ruth, he will do anything because he finally understands she and his family matter a lot to him.An affable comedy directed by Declan Lowney and based on the screenplay by Colin Bateman. The strong cast assembled for the film was an excuse for watching the film when it showed on television recently. The presence of Brendan Gleeson and Amanda Donohue as Harry and Ruth, worked well in this comedy. Unfortunately, the subplot involving James Nesbitt, an otherwise notable Irish actor, does not make much sense, and in a way, it is distracting.

This was a very good film. The humor is British which takes a bit of adjusting to but Gleeson's performance was perfect. He demonstrates that he can hold down a lead part while not necessarily fitting a Hollywood mold. The overall plot was good. The Gleeson character was a total jerk and as a result, he was surrounded by people that hated him thoroughly. Through a tragic injury, he has to start all over and has a very hard time figuring out why everyone around him is such a jerk to HIM, not realizing that he was living in a world of relationships that he built (or destroyed). From there, Harry has to start all over and work through the many difficulties/consequences of his previous life. Gleeson is brilliant, I really had to root for him the whole time. If this were available on DVD I would probably buy it.

This is a wonderful film, beautifully, filmed, acted and directed. Just buy it, and you will have a film that you can watch time and time again. A story mixing comedy, tragedy, and insight, not letting each take anything away from the other. One of the best films I have seen in a long time.

This movie is great! Great humour, terrific acting, lovely Irish accents, relaxing, romantic, sexy... What else do you want? It made me feel happy.