Lisa Marshall Not what I expected - and so much better. I have always loved British humor and here is a shining example of why. It's just funny. A little bit corny but there is some element to it all that truly hits my funny bone.Well done. Good plot. Great irony.

ingemar-4 With the average ratings this movie has, I expected little, but I found it delivering, and doing so very well. The family is really awkward to watch in the beginning, it is so totally dysfunctional, but its rebirth is convincing and moves us closer to the people - in most cases.I found the opening sequence particularly well done, where Rosie is presented with few words, more with gestures and pose, and what we see is a charming young woman with a dark secret in her trunk, and a strange attitude to it.Then this woman arrives to the dysfunctional family and saves it, in the most morbid way. The moral is hard to accept, which makes it good: Should the family just accept God's mysterious ways and take the good they get, despite knowing that much evil was done to give it to them.The weakest part of the movie is, in my opinion, the son. He is flat and simple, and the "solution" to his problems is also simplified. We never hear anyone trying to explain why four boys got their brakes sabotaged. He is never accused of it, and four boys were hurt, possibly rather badly.But that is a detail in the whole. Well shot, well played, mostly well written. It all sums up to a movie that grows increasingly beautiful, I moved from uncomfortable to entertained. It may not be for everybody, it is not a straight comedy but rather a morbid drama that will make us worried and insecure as much as laugh. You don't get Mr Bean-style slapstick from Atkinson (although I like that just as much) but much, much more subtle humor, which can be just as funny if you only notice them.

jusco15 It's hard to find a bad British comedy film; somehow their blood is flowing with the necessary ingenuity to generate laughter. It was my second time watching the black comedy film Keeping Mum, yet I enjoyed it both times. It starts off with the condemnation of a pretty, young lady who murdered and dismembered her husband and his partner, already venturing into the realm of morbid humour. Fast forward forty-plus years and we find ourselves in a small village called Little Wallop, a mere population of 57. We are introduced to a family that is on the brink of falling apart: rebellious teen daughter, bullied son, uptight and unsatisfied mother, unknowing and boring father (who also happens to be the town's vicar). And who else magically appears as their new granny but the lady (now old, but still just as jolly), fresh out of her confinement? Soon things begin looking brighter, and the entire family can't help but wonder if the new granny called Grace was God-sent.The strength of the film is carried by the strong performances. The reason why I bothered to watch this in the first place was because of Rowan Atkinson – he is, without a doubt, the funniest man alive and I have so much respect for him. He once again wonderfully executes his role as a blustering, dim-witted vicar; he is pure comic. Alongside him, Kirstin Scott Thomas is just as brilliant as his wife who desperately searches for satisfaction from another man (an American with the accent and hot bod). Yet, it is Maggie Smith, one of the English actress greats, who gives a cunning and refreshing portrayal of caring, lovable granny-slash-murderer. You know you're in for a treat when you have Rowan Atkinson's libido activated upon the reading of Song of Solomon or when Maggie Smith smiles wickedly with a butcher knife in hand.Is this the best British comedy around? Far from it, but those looking for a fun and lighthearted black comedy (yes, I'm aware of the contradiction there; but then again, our generation is capable of making light of serious situations, is it not?) might find this film a delightful romp.

Angelus2 Grace Hawkins takes up the job as a housekeeper for the Goodfellow family, a family that is suffering from all kinds of things. A Father who is totally unaware of what is happening in the lives of his children and is emotionally distant from his wife, the wife who is having an affair with her American Golf tutor.A son who is bullied constantly and sex starved daughter.But as things begin to get better for the Goodfellow's, it seems that people from the village begin to disappear.This a British black comedy that makes light of a serial killer's exploits, this film is much more tamed than any of the other darker comedies I've seen in recent memory. I felt that Rowan Atkinson was a little disappointing, as I expected a far greater performance from the man who delivered us 'Mr.Bean'. Kristin is very funny as the unloved housewife, who despises the dog next door...While Maggie Smith is sweet as the nanny we'd all love to have around....Tamsin Egerton, is decent in her performance, she seems to have been given the role of eye candy here...But it still works, as she's stunning.However, the film is only watchable for one reason. Patrick Swayze. Patrick, sadly is no longer with us, but here he gives a hilarious performance as the sex starved Golf instructor and made this at times slow film great fun to watch.