Finding Your Feet

Usually, quaint and pleasant British comedies either come from high external recommendation (like Love, Actually) or from the lofty shelves of Miss Cleo, but this time out is quite organic.

Finding Your Feet follows the tribulations of Imelda Staunton’s Sandra, who’s just found out that her husband of decades (who’s just been given an Order of the Empire honor (honestly can’t remember which one, even though the first scene covers it)) has been cheating on her for five years.  She’s crushed and pissed off, so she storms out to stay with her estranged sister, Celia Imrie’s Bif.  The two are decidedly different siblings, Sandra the stuck-up homebody and Bif the free-spirited quasi-libertine.  As the two spend more and more time together, they rekindle their lost relationship, open Sandra up to the possibilities life has to offer, and build some lasting (and unexpected) friendships.

Director Richard Loncraine (whom you may remember for helming the Ian McKellen Richard III (awesome, if you haven’t seen it), Wimbledon, and Firewall) keeps things moving along rather briskly, and, along with writers Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcraft (who are either new to the writing desk or have done things I’ve never heard of, respectively), maintain a constant sine-wave of emotions:  They start off kinda negatively, bring you up to a healthy grin, then smack you down further than before, then, wondering why you’re so down, make you laugh again, and pretty much repeat the process throughout the runtime.  The end result is generally up-lifting, but you’re gonna deal with some tears getting there.  (Shut up, I’m not crying, you’re crying!)

Really driving the film is the strong ensemble acting.  Led by Staunton and Imrie, the film is also buoyed by a low-key – yet still thoroughly emotional – performance from Tim Spall and some strong support work from David Hayman and the always-fantastic Joanna Lumley.  There’s even a relatively small appearance from Josie Lawrence, sparking a manic hunt in my brain for where I remembered her from (turns out, it wasn’t EastEnders, it was the original run of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, which made me feel terrible for not remembering immediately).

In all honesty, you’re not likely to find much in the way of anything new here, either in content, plot, or message; you’ve seen this sort of movie before.  That said, there’s plenty of fun to be mined here, and the cast and able direction ensure you don’t leave the theatre empty-handed, so to speak.  If you’re a fan of the general swath of British comedies/dramas, or if you just dig emotional comedies, this is right up your alley (lookin’ at you, Miss Cleo).  I mean, where else are you gonna come across this shot of Spall (and others, obviously) decked in the height of ’50s dancin’ duds?