Last Chance Harvey

Review by David Woodward

Just imagine a group of Hollywood moguls sitting in a boardroom with a whiteboard shuffling cards with the names of the screen's biggest stars trying to create the next successful pairing to go up on the marquee:

De Niro and Streep, Streep and Nicholson, Nicholson and Pfeiffer, Pfeiffer and Costner, etc.

Sometimes the combinations work but, more often than not, they don’t.

The pairing of Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson in Last Chance Harvey doesn’t work on a number of levels.

Hoffman plays a lonely musician who travels to London for his daughter's wedding, where he briefly encounters Thompson at the airport.

After losing his job and not feeling up to attending his daughter's wedding celebrations, he meets her again and she convinces him to attend the wedding reception. He agrees, but only if she'll come with him.

After the wedding, they make a date to meet again - at noon. However, he is unable make it thanks to being rushed to hospital in a scenario very reminiscent of An Affair to Remember. From here, Hoffman must find her again in order to continue their "budding romance".

While this story is interesting enough (it could even be regarded as a try-hard Richard Curtis / Notting Hill type of film), Hoffman and Thompson have no screen chemistry at all.

Besides the fact that Dustin Hoffman is much shorter than Thompson in all but one scene (and then it’s only because Thompson takes her shoes off!), he seems to remain aloof and rarely shows any real emotion towards her. 

In fact, they don’t really ever touch throughout the film.

Much of the movie was filmed outdoors along the Victoria Embankment and the South Bank of the Thames or at other famous London landmarks. It is interesting to note that Hoffman and Thompson both appear to be continually wearing rumpled overcoats to protect them from the London weather.

However, these outdoor scenes actually open the movie up a bit and help create an atmosphere for the autumn romance being played out on the screen.

Hoffman continues to display his annoying "Method Actor" habit of doing little shuffles with his feet and giving a slight smile without ever showing his teeth. He does have one particularly touching scene though when, as the father of the bride, he gives a speech at the wedding reception.

Thompson is a lot more appealing giving a solid performance as a single woman in her 40s who must constantly deal with a clingy mother and who is cautious about entering any romantic attachments. She plays this sort of aristocratic "plain Jane" role to perfection.

A special mention must also be made of James Brolin in a rare screen appearance in a nice little support role.

Last Chance Harvery is by no means as solid as you might hope, however, continue watching as the end credits role for a brief scene which follows up a loose thread in the storyline dealing with the mother of Thompson's character.

Blu Ray DVD Extras

There is a ‘no frills’ edition on the standard DVD release with no extras to speak of at all. However, if you've already upgraded to Blu Ray - Special Features are bountiful.

There are a bunch of audio commentaries on offer, as well as two Behind The Scenes featurettes shot exclusively in HD.

Add to that the super crisp 1080p High Definition presentation of the feature, and you've got yourself one handy little Friday night date flick.

Conclusion: Episodes 70% Extras: 60%