Saving Grace (2000)

The second film from writer and star Craig Ferguson, this comedy was a modest worldwide success at the box office, joining other such recent imports as The Full Monty (1997) and Waking Ned Devine (1998) in creating a vibrant new international market for British films. Brenda Blethyn gives a typically adroit performance as the film's central character, playing the part with a requisite combination of gritty determination and blissful naïveté, opposing qualities that the actress engenders with great skill. Ferguson expands his range with a gentle, kindhearted role that's probably a revelation to U.S. audiences aware of him only as the duplicitous boss in the popular television sitcom The Drew Carey Show. While the rest of the cast is filled with British character actors hired too predictably by type, Saving Grace is a mostly effective, surprisingly warm film that would easily be suitable for children were it not for its central preoccupation with illicit substances. The script's finale disappoints, however, with a too-quick wrap-up that feels artificial, forced, and rushed. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide