Product Details

• Actors: Brenda Blethyn, Craig Ferguson, Martin Clunes, Tchéky Karyo, Jamie Foreman
• Directors: Nigel Cole
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: New Line Home Video
• VHS Release Date: September 11, 2001
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005LKL6
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,851 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #17 in	Video > Comedy > Comic Criminals
  #18 in	Video > Comedy > British

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Imagine a Cheech and Chong pothead comedy, only instead of two scruffy lowlifes, the movie is about an aimless Scottish gardener and a middle-aged British widow with a green thumb. Grace (Brenda Blethyn of Secrets and Lies and Little Voice) has just discovered that her recently deceased husband has left her with an enormous debt when her gardener Matthew (Craig Ferguson, The Big Tease) asks her to help him tend to his small, personal-use marijuana crop. Grace soon realizes that they can turn her green house into a hydroponics laboratory and turn out a profitable crop--if only they can keep the local constables at bay and then find a dealer to actually sell the stuff. Saving Grace has well-developed characters, intelligent dialogue, a charming and capable cast, and clean, clear direction. But at heart it's still a marijuana comedy, with most of its funniest moments coming from the silly, stoned behavior of elderly ladies and other stuffy Brits. Nothing wrong with that, and Blethyn and Ferguson give the film a strong anchor. The ending goes a little over-the-top, but most of the movie is well-grounded in genuine human behavior. A subplot about Matthew's girlfriend's pregnancy is treated with respect and integrity. Sweet, silly, and sincere. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Omigod, you've gotta see this one..., July 20, 2003

By	Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Saving Grace (DVD)

Superb. Grace (Brenda Blethyn) is widowed and instead of finding her comfortable country life insured, discovers she's been left with a huge debt that threatens her ability to retain the family home. Then she finds that her charming gardener has been growing a few marijuana plants on her property, and they're looking a little sickly. He hesitantly comes to her for green thumb advice - and she sees a way out of her debt. The rest? Well, I'm sorry: you'll just have to see the movie. But suffice it to say that you won't regret it. It's a hoot and a half and all's well that end's well. The scene where a group of 'ladies to do tea' get inadvertently stoned when the wrong leaves are used for the afternoon brew - it's worth seeing all by itself. Fun, funny, sweet, and silly - and utterly charming.
Five stars.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming and Quirky, December 1, 2000

By	"jaysfan007" (Yardley, PA, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saving Grace (DVD)

I first saw Saving Grace on a Virgin Atlantic flight in July, coming home from Scotland. I never heard of the movie, but was quickly drawn in by the characters setting and plot. When it finally opened in the U.S., I became a one-man PR firm, talking the film up and getting people to go see it. Brenda Blethyn is one of my favorite actresses, back from when she played the mother in "A River Runs Through It." She plays Grace with dignity, warmth, and just a touch of desperation. Craig Ferguson is nothing like the character he plays on Drew Carey. His Matthew is sweet, concerned, and a little irresponsible, but trying hard to do the best he can. The supporting cast is wonderful too, adding a richness to the village in Cornwall that makes you care about what is happening, and believe it to be possible. Martin Clunes as Dr. Bamford, and Valerie Edmond as Matthew's girlfriend, Nicky, provide a sense of whimsy and groundedness to the events that unfold. Combine the performances with a good soundtrack and the beautiful setting on the Cornish coast and you have a great "little" film in which you will discover new things with each viewing.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Movie!, September 2, 2000

By	Patrick Burnett "penngos" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A comedy about a sweet, debt-plagued, little old English lady who grows marijuana to keep her 300-year old house off the auction block? Why not? And while we're at it, can you throw in a naked bobby?

"Saving Grace" is one of the cooler movies I've seen this year, having flown right in under the hype radar. Oh, sure, I saw a trailer for it earlier while visiting San Francisco, but I live in Georgia - not exactly the foreign film capitol of the world. So when this movie appeared and my wife said she wanted to see it, I was a little surprised.

The story is plausible enough; when her debt-plagued, cheatin' husband steps out of an airplane without a parachute ("Maybe he was looking for the loo," says one naive old gal) and leaves her in terrible debt and up to her ears in bad business dealings, Grace Trevethyn is desperate. So desperate that she begins growing marijuana in her greenhouse (the scene depicting Grace tossing her award-winning orchids out the door to make room is hysterical).

The film takes place in Cornwall and the sound was a little muddy, so I had trouble understanding everyone at first, but after the first twenty minutes or so it was fine. With the exception of a small-time drug dealer, who is played too goofy for my tastes, all of the performances are top notch. The real surprise here is Craig Ferguson (the Drew Carey show's Mr. Wicke), who plays a very sweet, sensitive Scottish gardener with visions of pot buds dancing in his head. He also co-wrote & co-produced.

I laughed through the entire film. Director Nigel Cole has a terrific comedic sense and was able to make even a few of the background scenes funny.

In the end, everything turns out just the way you want it to, though not in the way you expect, which is perfect for a little movie you weren't even sure you wanted to see in the first place. I highly recommend it.