ShareThisA flat tale of middle-age romance, "Last Chance Harvey" is a textbook example of how strong performances rarely make up for lackluster scripts.
Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson do everything they can to get you to buy into their characters and cheer for their obvious, artificially stymied romance.
As you watch Hoffman peer into Thompson's eyes, you can almost see him twitch his head and mumble under his breath, "C'mon, let's just get out of here. Say we need a coffee break and just keep on walking."
Writer-director Joel Hopkins ("Jump Tomorrow") sets up a stilted premise with no memorable dialogue and forces his cast to keep it interesting. Hoffman and Thompson are only partially successful, but the fault isn't with their acting. It's with their judgment for signing onto the project in the first place.
Hoffman plays Harvey, a downbeat soul who's long since been chewed up by life and is now just waiting in misery to be spit out.
Having spent a career betraying his artistic instincts to drone away as a writer of dopey ad jingles, Harvey is on the verge of losing the job he despises but doesn't know what he would do without. He's got one last chance to show his boss a reason to keep him, but his daughter's London wedding will seize most of his attention.
Although Harvey is intent on getting back to the States almost as soon as he gets on the plane, he becomes infatuated with Kate (Thompson), an uptight British businesswoman who wants nothing to do with him. Things go the way they always do in corny movie romances -- Harvey wants to chat, Kate is indifferent. They bicker a bit, go on a long walk and discover they're soul mates.
It's all harmless, inoffensive and uninspired. Watching the movie, you feel a little like Harvey, just doing your time and hoping for the best. Just don't expect anything worthwhile to come out of the experience.
The drama launches into something special only once, when Harvey's standoffish daughter (Liane Balaban) sits Harvey down and unleashes a shuddering revelation. Her decision seems disingenuous and generated only to make you feel worse for Harvey, but his muted reaction speaks to his regret of toiling as a career-obsessed drone. Harvey's disappointment leads to him cutting out of the wedding to fall in love and make a grand return.
Kate has her own share of hang-ups and problems, including a nosy, harassing mother, but really she's less a character than an obstacle to Harvey's happiness. Aw, Kate, can't you just cut Harvey a break? He's in a bad way! Pity and perseverance, rather than a romantic connection, are apparently all Kate needs in a beau.
Harvey, like the film, doesn't even deserve a first chance.
2 stars out of 4
Rated: PG-13 for brief strong language.
Family call: Fine for families.
Running time: 92 minutes.
(Pvillarreal(at)azstarnet.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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