Product Details

• Actors: Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, Patrick Swayze, Tamsin Egerton
• Directors: Niall Johnson
• Format: NTSC
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JP9I
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #186,894 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Homicidal Old Lady Movie Ever!, December 25, 2006

By	Adam Cole "adamjoncole" (Brisbane, Queensland Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Keeping Mum (DVD)

This is probably the most touching film about homicidal old ladies I have ever seen. Grace (Maggie Smith) is not your ordinary homicidal grandmother - she has a heart of gold. When she comes into the life of the Reverend of Little Wallop (Rowan Atkinson) she immediately takes a proprietorial interest in his family's wellbeing. Before long Grace is proactively sorting out a lot of family problems - the son's bullies, the daughter's awful boyfriends, the Reverend's lack of confidence and his wife's marital woes. At the same time, a number of people and animals that get in the way of Grace's plans start disappearing. She is so charmingly innocent and so completely well-intentioned that it is hard to hold her methods against her. In fact, I spent most of the film cheering for her. Grace is a very rare character indeed (the closest approximate I can think of is Angela from "Sleepaway Camp II & III" - possibly a younger variation of the same creature) and we need more like her.

The film is undoubtedly aided by an excellent cast. The central character, the reverend's frustrated wife Gloria, is played by the very convincing (not to mention attractive) Kristin Scott Thomas who effectively carries most of the film. Maggie Smith is adorable as the innocently-menacing Grace. Patrick Swayze is perfect as the hunky lothario/sleazoid pursuing both Gloria and her daughter. Jeez, he aged well, and I think he was perfect for this part (which is sort of a compliment). Given first billing despite performing in what was essentially a supporting role,is Rowan Atkinson in probably his most subdued role ever as the Reverend of Little Wallop. Don't let that deter you if you're a fan. He still manages to be hilarious without having to lift a finger and when he does go into full comedy mode he is marvellous. However, it is his performance as the absent-minded workaholic vicar who seems helpless in the face of his unravelling marriage that is both touching and believable and demonstrates acting capabilities I would not have expected of him.

In short, this is a very funny and sweet film that should not be missed.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Grace, March 29, 2008

By	R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Keeping Mum (DVD)

The Goodfellow family needs more than just a housekeeper. They need a miracle.

What they got was Grace.

When Grace (Maggie Smith) arrives, she finds Gloria (Scott Thomas) somewhere between an affair and going crazy. Golf Pro Lance (Swayze) is encouraging her to swing more than a club. Clarence, the little dog next door has been yelling nonstop for days and the deaf old man who owns him, can't hear and doesn't seem to care. Walter (Atkinson) her vicar husband, has forgotten there's romance in the "Bible" and he's so lost in his tending his congregation, he's even lost his sense of humor. Teenaged Polly (Egerton) is experimenting with sex--and not for the first time. Peter (Parkes) is getting beaten up by the school bullies.

Grace quickly sets to work setting things to rights. On the surface, she's quite an endearing old lady who soothes with a cup of tea and a magic word, but her methods run far deeper than that--just don't look in the nearby pond!

If you love British comedy, particularly the darker varieties thereof, you're going to enjoy "Keeping Mum." There's more than one surprise twist. Of particular interest is a golf lesson between Lance and Gloria just filled with double entendre.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "My husband totally lost his head over another woman...", February 20, 2007

By	Gerard D. Launay (Berkeley, California) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Keeping Mum (DVD)

This is a delicious twist on Mary Poppins with Maggie Smith playing the
"trunk killer"...that is she was sent to an institution because she was traveling with a trunk that carried the cut up remains of her philandering husband and his mistress.

Now she's back and doing housework for a minister's family in a small English town. Her approach to problems is to eliminate them...literally.
How can you suspect such a charming, smiling, old lady?

As for the minister, our Maggie Smith has some suggestions...lighten up your sermons with religious jokes and spice up your personal life with a little sex. I loved the "reading" of the Song of Solomon in the movie...one of the best readings of King James selections that was moving and erotic.

This is good fun and a must for Maggie Smith fans.