A Life Less Ordinary

14 March 2016

A Life Less Ordinary 1997

• Director: Danny Boyle
• Based on book: no.
• Cast: Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter, Delroy Lindo, Dan Heydaya, Stan Tucci, Ian McNiece, Ian Holm
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ewan McGregor – Perfect Sense, Mortdecai, The Impossible, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Ghost Writer, Stay, Star Wars I-III, Big Fish, Young Adam, Moulin Rouge, Little Voice, Velvet Goldmine, A Life Less Ordinary, Brassed Off, Trainspotting, Shallow Grave
• Cameron Diaz – The Holiday, In Her Shoes, Gangs of New York, Being John Malkovich, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Feeling Minnesota
• Holly Hunter – Top of the Lake, Levity, Moonlight Mile, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Crash, The Firm, The Piano, Broadcast News, Raising Arizona, Swing Shift
• Delroy Lindo – Exonerated, Cider House Rules, Feeling Minnesota, Get Shorty, Clockers, Malcolm X
• Dan Heydaya – Mulholland Drive, Homicide Life on the Streets, Alien Resurrection, Marvin’s Room, The Ex-Wives’ Club, Clueless, The Usual Suspects, Hill Street Blues, Benny and Joon, Joe and the Volcano
• Stan Tucci - Fortitude, The Hunger Games, Swing Vote, Maid in Manhattan, Road to Perdition, Joe Gould’s Secret,A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Pelican File, Billy Bathgate, Prizzi’s Honor
• Ian McNiece – Valkyria, From Hell, Longitude, David Copperfield, 84 Charing Cross Road, Nicholas Nickleby
• Ian Holm – The Hobbit etc, The Aviator, Day after Tomorrow, From Hell, eXistenZ, The Fifth Element, The Madness of King George, Frankenstein, Kafka, Hamlet, Henry V, Dance with a Stranger, Brazil, Alien, Holocaust, O What a Lovely War
• Why? Ewan McGregor
• Seen:  Once before. Now 11 March 2016      

       Stories of angels coming down to earth to interfere in human affairs are not uncommon and they are surprisingly often quite enjoyable.

       This one has a pressured Gabriel under orders from above sending two agents – oops, angels – Jackson and O’Reilly to earth to bring together a perfect loving couple who will stay together till death do them part. If they fail they’ll be evicted from heaven and turned into mortals.

       Enter loser Robert (McGregor) who has just lost his cleaning job and girlfriend, and spoiled rich daughter Celine (Diaz) to an unsavoury millionaire (Holm).

       Robert takes Celine hostage and….

       Jackson: ‘Are they in love yet?’

       O’Reilly: ‘Not yet.’

       It’s funny with plenty of laugh-out-loud lines. The plot and story development has enough unexpected twists to keep the interest alive and the characters are quirky and likeable.

       It does go on a bit but the cast carries it all the way through. It’s a perfect (almost) feel-good-on-a-Friday-evening-with-a-drink-or-two movie. Thank you, Danny Boyle.

4 * of 5