Running time: 94 minutes
Starring: Piper Perabo, Lena Headey, Anthony Head, Sue Johnston, Mathew Goode, Celia Imrie
Rating 2 out of 10
It's hard to imagine that there will be a worse British comedy this year than Imagine Me and You, a misguided and flat effort from writer/director Ol Parker (husband of Thandi Newton and writer of 2000's It Was an Accident which sank without trace). Not only has Parker created a consistently unfunny and unbelievable piece, but it seems to be something of an homage to Richard Curtis - without the wit or panache that he is at least able to inject into the likes of Notting Hill or Four Weddings. To add insult to injury, Parker has fashioned a lesbian romcom, and despite his best intentions, it's clearly an area he knows nothing about. Instead of tackling a potentially interesting subject head-on, this is a rather coy and prim affair which may reflect more about what is going on inside the screenwriter's head than anything to do with the real world.
Piper Perabo (yes, that Piper Perabo, last touted as the next big thing when she appeared in Coyote Ugly in 2000), stars as Rachel, a young English woman about to be married to Hector, a banker of the first order. However, as she is walking down the aisle on her big day, a stolen glance changes everything as she spots her florist Luce (Lena Headey) and instantly falls head over heels. Oh - we are supposed to believe that the bride has never met her florist until the day of the wedding.
The wedding ensues, but the honeymoon period is short as Rachel questions feelings she has never had before. What follows is ninety minutes of predictability, with scant regard for believability, and scene after scene that are meant to presumably provoke tears of laughter. One or two people at the screening I attended may indeed have been in tears, but for all the wrong reasons.
Despite the shoddiness of the script, the actors battle on gamely and Headey and Perabo do their best. Luminaries such as Anthony Head and Sue Johnston pop up in roles that they may need to have words with their agents about. If this is meant to reflect the contemporary state of the British comedy, then the future does not look good.
Paul Hurley
