Brilliant and touching

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This is a remake of the French Canadian film Seducing Doctor Lewis (2003), original title La grande seduction, directed by Jean-Francoise Pouliot, filmed in New Brunswick. The current film is set in the fictional fishing village of Tickle Head on the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The film's opening details 'the way it used to be', with hard work, enough rewards, and life with a purpose. Then the movie jumps to the present, where all the able-bodied men are on welfare from the government. The sense of purpose, at least, has been lost. Our protagonist, Murray, has been collecting welfare checks and losing self-esteem for some time. The mayor has a tentative deal with an oil sludge reclamation company, which will go forward provided the town has a resident physician. The mayor takes a job in Toronto; by arranged chance, he intercepts a physician, Paul Lewis, and blackmails him into coming to Tickle Head for a month. While Paul is on the way, Murray and company spruce up the town to give Paul a good impression. The lies do not end there, not by any means. Will their plan actually work?--------- Some of the bits are funny, such as the locals trying to learn cricket post haste. The principal actors gave good performances. The sentiment at the end was carried off fairly well. 6/10

It's the small habour (not village) of Tickle Head, Newfoundland, Canada. Murray French (Brendan Gleeson) remembers the days when his proud father worked hard to fish cod. The pride is gone now and everybody lines up to receive their welfare. To add to the indignity, Murray's wife gets a job in the big city. The town is bidding for a petrochemical plant but they need a full-time doctor. Dr. Lewis (Taylor Kitsch) gets caught with some cocaine at the airport and the town's former mayor blackmails him to work in Tickle Head for a month. The town conspires to seduce Lewis with lies, cricket, fishing and Murray even tries to push Kathleen (Liane Balaban) to flirt. Then it gets more complicated when the oil executive implies that he needs a $100k bribe.This is a sweet little movie. The place looks nice. Brendan Gleeson is especially great. Taylor Kitsch and Liane Balaban are nice. Everything and everyone is nice and charming. There are a few good laughs but only a few. The romance could have been better. Gleeson and gang are able to keep the little charmer on track.

"We have one month to convince our good doctor to sign long term." The town of Tickle Cove is starting to collapse economically. The residents are living on welfare checks and watching everyone they love move into the big city. When they have a chance to secure a contract for a factory for the town they need to do whatever they can. The first thing they need is a doctor. Dr. Lewis (Kitsch) comes to the harbor for a month and local local mayor Murray French (Gleeson) enlists the help of the town to do anything that will make him stay. I have liked pretty much anything that Brendan Gleeson has done. This one is no exception. One of the biggest pet peeves I have about movies is when they're too predictable. Almost from the beginning you are able to tell what will happen and how the movie will end. This is one of the few exceptions where that doesn't hurt the enjoyment of the movie. The writing and comedy is what keeps you watching and laughing the whole way through. It's very entertaining watching the lengths the towns people go to to impress the doctor. The stuff with cricket is my favorite. This is a movie that may not be for everyone but I liked it and I recommend it. Overall, a movie that is very predictable but for once that doesn't hurt the movie. I recommend this but again it's not really for everyone. I give it a B+.

From the first time I saw the trailer for The Grand Seduction I was intrigued. I'm not a huge connoisseur of Canadian film by any means but I find lately they have really been finding their groove when it comes to being unique Canadian. In addition to that, while I was born and raised in Ontario, Canada, my father's entire family including him were born, raised and still live in small town Newfoundland. I've often thought how quirky and fun a comedy in that setting could be so immediately I thought this was full of potential. I expected a "Full Monty" feel with some genuinely good laughs and just a very down home feel. In some respects you will get that and there is a decent story with some okay characters but when its all done and said you're left feeling a little empty. The characters never really take off, in fact some are just wasted and the story lacks any real pizazz so really the film is just okay. It isn't terrible by any means and as expected the scenery in and around the locations they shoot is stunning. I expect the film will appeal more to a much older crowd and I understand it is doing very well out east and that makes sense too. Perhaps there wasn't enough time to tell the full story because I also thought this would make an awesome TV Series (similar to Northern Exposure but the Eastern Canada Version.) Brendan Gleeson leads the cast and does very well. His character is definitely the one that gets the most development and focus and a lot of really good emotional depth. I like Gleeson but I'm surprised they couldn't find a Canadian guy, much less an Easterner to play the role. Still Gleeson is good. The only true blooded Newfoundlander in the film is Gordon Pinsent and I was perhaps most excited to see him in a supporting role and had my hopes quickly dashed. Pinsent is perhaps the most underused and completely wasted character in the entire film. He is such a legendary Canadian actor and it seems like they tried to give his character some quirky depth but it never works and he's practically background fodder and that is unforgivable. Taylor Kitsch (better known to me as the guy who ruins every potential blockbuster) is our big city Doctor who inadvertently ends up forced into their small community. Kitsch keeps getting this pivotal roles (Battleship, John Carter and Savages and all three flopped colossally. However, he fits this role very well. He is meant to be the ultimate fish out of water and a character with a lot of flaws and he does it very well. He was probably my favourite performance of the movie. He and Gleeson have good chemistry (could have been better but it was still good) and he definitely does a good job. The main cast are hardly given any depth so you can imagine the supporting cast gets completely mis-used. The rudimentary attempt a romantic storyline is lost on a hardly used or established character played by Liane Balaban and the townsfolk that should have been downright hilarious are too few and far between to make an impact.The Grand Seduction is simply average in every way. If you're an Easterner than you might enjoy it more but otherwise you'll find it almost boring at times. None of the gags work to really make a different and the story feels forced at other times. The potential is absolutely there but it just isn't. A legend in his own right director Don McKellar seems to not be able to find his footing with this film. Maybe my expectations were too high? Try it on for size but be prepared for mediocrity it almost every way. Last week's Cas & Dylan was a far better made Canadian film. 6/10