Romance Alongside the Thames

“Last Chance Harvey” is a wonderful romantic comedy centering on a middle age man with middle age problems. Harvey Shine, Dustin Hoffman is a divorced father, who upon flying to London to attend his daughter’s wedding finds out that he is not the one who will be walking her down the aisle. Given the fact that the divorce rate in America is slightly above 50% it seems logical that we will begin to see more films of this nature. “Last Chance Harvey”, handles the topic with openness and sensitivity.

Harvey Shine was not so good at being neither husband nor father in his last relationship. One of the questions posed in the film is, “Does this mean that he relinquishes all fatherly duties at his daughter’s wedding?” With the help of a newly acquired friend, Kate Walker played by Emma Thompson, he gains the confidence to truly let his daughter know how he feels about her during a poignant speech he delivers at the wedding reception. It’s a heartwarming moment as Susan played by Liane Balaban is overcome by emotion as her father’s speech pours out his love for her. The Step Dad played by James Brolin attempts to make amends as he suggests they both toast the newly married couple together. The scene quickly shifts to Harvey blissfully dancing with his daughter, the forever sweet (Daddy/Daughter dance.)

The wedding scenario is only one of Harvey’s problems. He has also lost his job and is now faced with the dilemma of finally finding a woman (Kate, a Londoner) whom he feels he can trust and be himself with. Kate has never married and is a much younger woman. They are both not really sure what to do about their newfound friendship which both would like to see develop into a romantic relationship. Kate has been hurt and disappointed so many times before and Harvey’s not sure that he will succeed this time as he’s failed miserably once before.

Most of the dialogue scenes between Kate and Harry play out against the backdrop of the London skyline beside the Thames River. The middle-aged couple sitting next to me in the theater were holding hands and listening intently as Huffman and Thompson attempted to figure out what they were going to do about their situation. The location is romantic and brought back many memories for myself as well. The city of London is very similar to Paris in many aspects as both are breathtaking beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Chicago and New York, but it’s refreshing to view other skylines in films.

One of the problems I had with this movie is the lack of information we know about Kate. We are introduced to her needy mother but other than that are given no flash backs regarding the vague details of  her life. A quirky friend or another relative would have added to the sketchiness we are given. Because her character is not as developed we really don’t care as much what happens and I found that sad because both of these actors are amazing and I would have liked to have seen much more. I also thought–for once, that the film was too short. I wanted to see more of this couple and how they handle this new found fondness for each other.

Sarah Adamson © 2009