Born Romantic | | Cast : | Craig Ferguson, Ian Hart | | Director : | David Kane | | Studio : | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | January 01, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | January 07, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | September 22, 2004 | | Summary | Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner..? | Content
 | I love this film (obviously being able to understand the dialogue helps a lot), to me it's the quintessential Brit flick - absolutely what we do best - but I don't consider it a Rom Com at all. It's very bitter sweet, and if all you're seeing is the funny stuff on the surface then you're missing the point of this film. Every character had a dark thread running through them, a secret pain or guilt or just sorrow at wrong turnings made. But it's also about hope, and the message that I get from this film is that no matter what disasters lie in your past, you can always overcome them or redeem yourself.
Adrian Lester was, as always, wonderful at the emotional epi-centre of the film. BTW if you ever get the chance to see him do Shakespeare on stage then move heaven and earth to go, he is a sensational actor who absolutely understands how to act 'the beats inbetween'.
So, my advice is to look past the tabasco jokes and see the real film. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 29, 2002 | | Summary | Fun Romantic Comedy for an Evening's View | Content
| Hubby and I have finally solved our problem of being unable to understand English accents that are other than what one hears on the BBC and are referred to as "posh" or upperclass. We now turn on the English subtitles and watch them that way. It used to be that fifteen minutes into a movie like this we'd be turning it off because we had such trouble understanding them. With the advent of English subtitles being on all DVDs, those days are over. The film is a relationship film set in London and involves rougly 7 different men and women and their attempts to get together through the use of their local Salsa dance club. Every character in here has relationship problems but they tend to be funny ones. There is minimal contact with the world of divorce and even less with the world of single parenting. Instead, these are all singles trying to connect and flopping fabulously at it most of the time. Each character has his or her own eccentricity which is well handled too. I can't say I need to own this film but for an evening's viewing, it was a lot of fun. There are two men who play cab drivers in a restaurant who have some absolutely hilarious dialogues with one another. They aren't part of the other action but as comedy sketches, their scenes together are gems. |
| Rating | | | Date | November 05, 2002 | | Summary | The darker side of comedy | Content
| BORN ROMANTIC cuts a slice of life out of London life that includes a myriad of characters all of whom border on pathological types. And it is this very aspect which makes this tasty little film so addictive. The homing center for these disparate people is a Salsa Club and whether they are committed to the dance routine or not, they weave in and out of each others lives with the salsa music as the glue. One woman is a grave decorator with anatomical phobias in abundance, another is a bisexual who fears relationships, another is leaping toward the bed the moment she meets a new male. The men are equally edgy, from a Scotsman who pines for a truly classy woman, to a ATM robber, to a wonderfully warm taxi driver who serves as a paterfamilias and has the only clear view in the bunch. How they all eventually find each other is the point of hte journey. The acting is excellent, the timing first rate, and if you have any difficulty with the various accents of the Londoners, just turn on the English subtitles and you won't miss a thing. A lovely film full of surprises. |
| Rating | | | Date | September 15, 2002 | | Summary | Surprisingly good, actually | Content
| You know, I normally have no use for romantic comedies--let alone romantic comedies that revolve around quasi-obscure cultural traditions--but this was--I must admit--quite good. This is largely due to the fact that its creators saw fit to insert some actual *comedy,* rather than just the cutesiness which typically passes for humor in these affairs, in spite of not being at all funny. The fact that the characters are, by and large, well-drawn helps too, and including the cab driver (the only one in London, apparently) as a central, unifying figure was a good idea that worked. I cannot help but compare Born Romantic to Sidewalks of New York, a film I hated (two stars was a bit generous, methinks). That film was also an ensemble piece examining multiple relationships, but it got bogged down in its self-satisfied smugness, never allowing the charaters to actually be people. This, on the other hand, does; it has a relatively unaffected charm that made it a highly enjoyable experience (of course, it also didn't hurt that it appealed to my inner anglophile either). Recommended. |
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