Harvey (Dustin Hoffman) has a job making jingles for TV ads. He travels from the US to the UK to take part in his estranged daughter's wedding, only to find he is ostracised and unwanted. When he loses his job over the phone, he's left pretty much all alone. Kate (Emma Thompson) is a single ... Read review
Set in London, this romantic comedy stars Dustin Hoffman as Harvey Shine, a divorced and ... more
haggard jingle-writer quickly aging out of his career and workaholic ways. With a warning from his boss (Richard Schiff) to not bother rushing back, Harvey goes to London, begrudgingly, for his daughter's wedding, fielding that work calls the whole time he's there. When Harvey greets his estranged daughter, Susie (Liane Balaban), it becomes clear just how far away he's grown from his family. The film never spells out in exactly what ways Harvey was a bad father, but it is clear he missed the boat when Susie asks her stepfather (James Brolin) to give her away. As Harvey leaves his heartbreak at the ceremony for an emergency work call, he misses his flight and gets fired. While nursing a whiskey at the airport bar, Harvey bumps into Kate (Emma Thompson), an airport employee escaping her own bad day with a glass of wine and a book. Suddenly taken by Kate's British charm, a tipsy Harvey bombards her with tales of his trouble. This unlikely trading of sob stories leads to lunch, a walk around London, and a day of unexpected romance. Thompson is charming as Kate, a lonely middle-age woman struggling to deal with her mother's constant prying into her life. Despite not having had the best of luck in romance, Kate is an optimist at heart, and it's this spark for life that attracts Harvey and ultimately helps repair his image in his daughter's eyes. Never showy or too ambitious, Joel Hopkins's slow-paced romance twists old cliches to suit a more adult audience. While not groundbreaking in its plot, LAST CHANCE HARVEY is saved by great performances from the always-solid Hoffman and the incredibly charming Thompson, who makes an otherwise familiar story feel fresh.
Set in London, this romantic comedy stars Dustin Hoffman as Harvey Shine, a divorced and ... more
haggard jingle-writer quickly aging out of his career and workaholic ways. With a warning from his boss (Richard Schiff) to not bother rushing back, Harvey goes to London, begrudgingly, for his daughter's wedding, fielding that work calls the whole time he's there. When Harvey greets his estranged daughter, Susie (Liane Balaban), it becomes clear just how far away he's grown from his family. The film never spells out in exactly what ways Harvey was a bad father, but it is clear he missed the boat when Susie asks her stepfather (James Brolin) to give her away. As Harvey leaves his heartbreak at the ceremony for an emergency work call, he misses his flight and gets fired. While nursing a whiskey at the airport bar, Harvey bumps into Kate (Emma Thompson), an airport employee escaping her own bad day with a glass of wine and a book. Suddenly taken by Kate's British charm, a tipsy Harvey bombards her with tales of his trouble. This unlikely trading of sob stories leads to lunch, a walk around London, and a day of unexpected romance. Thompson is charming as Kate, a lonely middle-age woman struggling to deal with her mother's constant prying into her life. Despite not having had the best of luck in romance, Kate is an optimist at heart, and it's this spark for life that attracts Harvey and ultimately helps repair his image in his daughter's eyes. Never showy or too ambitious, Joel Hopkins's slow-paced romance twists old cliches to suit a more adult audience. While not groundbreaking in its plot, LAST CHANCE HARVEY is saved by great performances from the always-solid Hoffman and the incredibly charming Thompson, who makes an otherwise familiar story feel fresh.
Academy award winners Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson reunite in Last Chance Harvey a ... more
heartfelt romance that celebrates new beginnings - at any age. New Yorker Harvey Shine is on the verge of losing his dead-end job as a jingle writer. Warned by his boss that he has just one more chance to deliver Harvey goes to London foe a weekend to attend his daughter's wedding but promises to be back on Monday morning to make an important meeting - or else. Harvey arrives in London only to learn his daughter has chosen to have her stepfather walk her down the aisle. Trying to hide his devastation Harvey leaves the wedding before the reception in the hope of getting to the airport on time but misses the plane anyway. When he calls his boss to explain Harvey is fired on the spot. Drowning his sorrows at the airport bar Harvey strikes up a conversation with Kate a sensitive 40-something employee of the Office of National Statistics. Kate whose life is limited to work the occasional humiliating blind date and endless phone calls from her smothering mother is touched by Harvey who finds himself energised by her intelligence and compassion. The growing connection between the pair inspires both as they unexpectedly transform one another's lives.
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
Comedy - Director: Tony Dow - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: John Challis, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Tessa Peake-Jones, Gwyneth Strong
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Harvey (Dustin Hoffman) has a job making jingles for TV ads. He travels from the US to the UK to take part in his estranged daughter's wedding, only to find he is ostracised and unwanted. When he loses his job over the phone, he's left pretty much all alone. Kate (Emma Thompson) is a single woman with a nagging mother who won't leave her alone. When the two meet, it just shouldn't work, but will it?
This is a stunning film. Fresh ... ...romantic comedy genre. What's so great about it is the way that the two main characters are so used to having crap lives, they expect that as the norm. When love rears its head, they expect nothing from it. The storyline, therefore, is interesting, varied, different and compelling.
The acting is just sublime. These two worked together on Stranger than Fiction, and liked it so much they wanted to get at it again. This film was written ... more
Harvey (Dustin Hoffman) has a job making jingles for TV ads. He travels from the US to the UK to take part in his estranged daughter's wedding, only to find he is ostracised and unwanted. When he loses his job over the phone, he's left pretty much all alone. Kate (Emma Thompson) is a single woman with a nagging mother who won't leave her alone. When the two meet, it just shouldn't work, but will it?
This is a stunning film. Fresh and different, it adds a whole new slant to the romantic comedy genre. What's so great about it is the way that the two main characters are so used to having crap lives, they expect that as the norm. When love rears its head, they expect nothing from it. The storyline, therefore, is interesting, varied, different and compelling.
The acting is just sublime. These two worked together on Stranger than Fiction, and liked it so much they wanted to get at it again. This film was written for them, and they've got so much chemistry it's just wonderful to watch.
Hoffman is just sublime, with his totally authentic and believable performance in a role that brings the best out of him. He's so subtle and realistic that you totally believe everything you see, which is quite something.
Thompson is good, and there's nothing wrong with her performance, but there's nothing really great about it too. She sort of wilts under Hoffman's powerhouse performance, but just about manages to keep along for the ride.
At 97 minutes, there could have been more, but it's a really enjoyable hour and half spent watching these two work through it all.
All in all, an excellent and surprisingly original film that I totally recommend.
Set in London, this romantic comedy stars Dustin Hoffman as Harvey Shine, a divorced and haggard jingle-writer quickly aging out of his career and workaholic ways. With a warning from his boss (Richard Schiff) to not bother rushing back, Harvey goes to London, begrudgingly, for his daughter's wedding, fielding that work calls the whole time he's there. When Harvey greets his estranged daughter, Susie (Liane Balaban), it becomes clear just how far away he's grown from his family.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
MOMENTUM PICTURES; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Commentary, Making of, Trailer
Aspect Ratio
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital
Professional reviews
Review
[A] Dustin Hoffman- and Emma Thompson-toplined battered romance about growing old and dealing with the life we've made for ourselves (Box Office, 24/08/2009)
Oscar winning stars make this an affair to remember (Daily Express, 03/09/2009)
Hoffman and Thompson are each good enough to bring out a glow in the other (Entertainment Weekly, 24/08/2009)
[A] small and surprisingly hopeful film, with beautifully attenuated performances by Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, who slip into the characters Hopkins has sewn for them like an old sweater (Los Angeles Times, 24/08/2009)
[A]cting this richly funny and touching is too good to resist....Hoffman and Thompson work the necessary magic. It's the pleasure of their company that makes this an affair to remember (Rolling Stone, 24/08/2009)
The film's biggest asset is the pitch-perfect performances of the two stars....It takes two consummate actors to make quickly escalating chemistry feel so natural (USA Today, 24/08/2009)
LAST CHANCE HARVEY winds up being a touching portrait of that rarity in the movies: a recognizably human couple with recognizably human problems and quirks (Washington Post, 24/08/2009)
DVD Description
Set in London, this romantic comedy stars Dustin Hoffman as Harvey Shine, a divorced and haggard jingle-writer quickly aging out of his career and workaholic ways. With a warning from his boss (Richard Schiff) to not bother rushing back, Harvey goes to London, begrudgingly, for his daughter's wedding, fielding that work calls the whole time he's there. When Harvey greets his estranged daughter, Susie (Liane Balaban), it becomes clear just how far away he's grown from his family. The film never spells out in exactly what ways Harvey was a bad father, but it is clear he missed the boat when Susie asks her stepfather (James Brolin) to give her away. As Harvey leaves his heartbreak at the ceremony for an emergency work call, he misses his flight and gets fired. While nursing a whiskey at the airport bar, Harvey bumps into Kate (Emma Thompson), an airport employee escaping her own bad day with a glass of wine and a book. Suddenly taken by Kate's British charm, a tipsy Harvey bombards her with tales of his trouble. This unlikely trading of sob stories leads to lunch, a walk around London, and a day of unexpected romance.
Thompson is charming as Kate, a lonely middle-age woman struggling to deal with her mother's constant prying into her life. Despite not having had the best of luck in romance, Kate is an optimist at heart, and it's this spark for life that attracts Harvey and ultimately helps repair his image in his daughter's eyes. Never showy or too ambitious, Joel Hopkins's slow-paced romance twists old cliches to suit a more adult audience. While not groundbreaking in its plot, LAST CHANCE HARVEY is saved by great performances from the always-solid Hoffman and the incredibly charming Thompson, who makes an otherwise familiar story feel fresh.
Compare Last Chance Harvey (DVD) to other similar Comedy »
![Last Chance Harvey [blu-ray] [2008] Dvd | Atkins](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/107413310.jpg "Last Chance Harvey [blu-ray] [2008] Dvd | Atkins")
