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Don't Go Breaking My Heart
UK 1999
produced by Bill Kenwright, Dante Di Loreto (executive), Anthony Edwards (executive) for Aviator Films
directed by Willi Patterson
starring Anthony Edwards, Jenny Seagrove, Charles Dance, Ben Reynolds, Ace Ryan, Amanda Holden, Tom Conti, Linford Christie, Susannah Doyle, Trevyn McDowell, Philip McGough, Richard Platt, Jane Leeves, Lynda Bellingham, George Layton, Julian Morris, Graham Suggs McPherson, Pip Miller, James Elvey, Sam Stockman, Thomas Aldridge
written by Geoff Morrow, music by Rolfe Kent
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
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Dentist Frank (Charles Dance) is in love with Suzanne (Jenny Seagrove),
but she hasn't quite come over the death of her husband yet - so Frank
decides to give her a slight push into the right direction by hypnotizing
her during one of their treatments and suggesting certain things.
Unfortunately, American personal trainer Tony (Anthony Edwards) rather
innocently beats him to the punch and reaps the reward Frank has íntended
for himself ... and Suzanne and Tony soon become a couple. But Suzanne
soon feels something is weird, because somehow the relationship with Tony
doesn't feel quite right. Eventually, Suzanne visits a psychiatrist (Tom
Conti), who reveals to her that she has been hypnotized - and since Frank
is the only man she allows to hypnotize her ... Suzanne breaks up with
Tony immediately, then tricks Frank into proposing to her and plans a big
wedding - only to blow it off in the very last instant to have her
revenge. Tony meanwhile trains Suzanne's son (Ben Reynolds to become a
championship runner, but then has to leave for the USA right on the day
the boy has his big race ... Of course everything ends with Tony not
leaving after all and race to the boy's big race, the boy winning his
race, and Tony getting the girl after all. The premise of Don't
Go Breaking My Heart is great - not exactly totally original maybe,
but great still. And there are a few very fine jokes in this film. However,
a gret premise and some very fine jokes don't automatically make a great
movie, and the problem with Don't Go Breaking My Heart doesn't lie
so much in its sense of humour or even its rather harmless narrative but
its lame storytelling. The point is, there is this great premise of the
wrong guy getting the hypnotized girl, and then it's brought to the screen
in a completely unspectacular way, almost as if the movie would apologize
for being funny - I mean, I don't like my comedies overly excited, but a
bit of excitement doesn't hurt, either. Also, neither Jenny Seagrove nor
Anthony Edwards seem to be 100% at home in the comedy genre, both lack
proper timing and simple willingness to be funny. This all does
definitely not make Don't Go Breaking My Heart, far from it - it
just could have been a whole lot better.
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