Really Surprised!

Good movie but grossly overrated

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

This film gathers together just about every contemporary Welsh actor, with the exception of Antony Hopkins and Michael Sheen (who probably have better agents?) and just about every cliché of 'life in the valleys'. The only thing that missing is the sheep sh******! Welsh tenors, chapels, bread (of heaven), the only gays in the village, 33 yr old virgins, fish and chips and cross dressing performers. Cerys Matthews had the good sense to be missing after her first scene. Even Mary Hopkin was thrown in for good measure. One reviewer mentioned Dylan Thomas in the same breath -turn in his grave he would! Rachel Griffiths is probably acting her socks off but she shouldn't have wasted her time. If you want a good Welsh feel-good comedy 'Hunky Dory' is a better bet.

I think some of the negative reviews come from people who expected this to be another sunshine funny film romance. It is funny but not light-hearted. It's actually quite dark. There's crippling illness and death and no boyfriend at the end of it. But mixed in with that are some very funny scenes, some excellent cameo performances and some super music. I'm from South Wales and everyone from there that I know loves this film and finds it very resonant. Jonatahn Pryce's Welsh accent seemed fine, just what you hear every day in the shop. I think this film might get a better reception in Britain now that Gavin and Stacey has softened up the rest of the country for both the Welsh accent and people.

Being Welsh and having visited Bargoed many times as a child, I was able to identify with the spew of peculiar characters this film had to offer. Sara Sugarman manages to poke fun at all aspects of the Welsh culture, but without being disrespectful and offensive. This is a first-rate comedy, which is easily on par with The Full Monty and East is East. The film is well-crafted and the performances are nuanced and executed with much conviction. With each viewing I notice something else, for example: the way the bumbling vicar peers up at the sky after hearing Annie Mary's angelic voice echo through the valleys, as if to imply a sound so beautiful could only come from one place. Viewing criteria:* get a curry * cwtch up to partner & * transport yourself to the distant land of Ogw

When you go see this film, please sit back and relax. This is a fable, a story where, yes, eccentric characters are overdramatized, but anyone that's been to Wales will see just that, the people are very funny. Rachel Griffiths is excellent, as is Jonathan Pryce, as her bullying Welsh father. This is not a US blockbuster, but then again, it wasn't supposed to be. The story has heart, and the one scene where Rachel's character (Annie-Mary) goes up in a balloon in a dance hall was very funny. The accents are hard for folks that don't understand any language other than American-English, but when you see a Liverpool film, a Scottish film, do you expect to understand anything other than the loveable laughable characters? View, sit back, relax..and enjoy the experience of "something different".