istara I greatly enjoyed Unconditional Love (2002) while also being able to see why the film wasn't a commercial success. The problem is that rather than straddling genres, it attempts to be multiple genres. First, Kathy Bates is initially starring in a typically American Lifestyle movie of a middle-aged woman "finding herself" after her husband has a mid-life crisis.Then we move to the UK, where we're in a kind of Richard Curtis black comedy (at one point they even sing one of the songs from Four Weddings and a Funeral). Various famous British actors pop up in the same kinds of comedic cameos that one would expect in such films. This even includes Julie Andrews, twice calming down a crisis with "Getting To Know You" (why not "My Favourite Things"?!)Finally we return to the US, where we're in a sort of B-grade mystery thriller, sort of Hallmark Channel-does-Silence-of-the-Lambs. This still gets interspersed with comedic and surreal singing and dancing sequences, and then we're back to screaming/running/chasing with Rupert Everett in a glittery jacket being the most histrionic of the lot.Meredith Eaton, an actress of physically short stature, has an interesting role. She plays Kathy Bates' daughter, a woman with dwarfism, but her character's condition is alternately used to make a meaningful point about prejudice and diversity, and then for comedic effect. Does it work? I don't know. Sometimes it felt rather awkward.The biggest clash is really the American schmaltz versus the British black humour. I was reminded of Finding Your Feet (2017), a British comedy drama that also features a central character who is a middle aged woman suddenly dumped by her husband who has to find herself. That film has far more tragedy and poignancy than Unconditional Love, and is much more bittersweet than comedic, but it works much better.Perhaps being sharper simply enables a movie to be more sincere. Rupert Everett sniping about gay persecution is far more sympathetic and poignant than Kathy Bates schmaltzing about "unconditional love" and human relations.Unconditional Love ends with a huge singing performance that includes Barry Manilow. That possibly tells you more about this movie than anything else could.

Franco Zefferer A mish mash of things you don't actually know what you're seeing, but it is delicious anyway. We know by now that Rupert Everett is a great actor a courageous man and downright irresistible. Unconditional love reminds you that unconditional means unconditional so you're going to love it, no matter what. From Julie Andrews to Don't Look Now, yeah why not. I had a lot of fun.

gradyharp Having never heard of this movie when it was in general release (if it ever was) it seemed a good Saturday evening diversion type story. Once the film begins and it is apparent that the director is P.J. Hogan who has created such fun and sensitive stories as MURIEL'S WEDDING and MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING, then the gentle humor and touching messages are welcome and anticipated. With a cast that includes sterling performances by the always excellent Kathy Bates, Rupert Everett, Jonathan Pryce, and Lynn Redgrave, the impact is one of polished comedy and sincere pathos blended as well as Hogan has done in the past. Hogan likes to touch on issues such as 'different' people, be those differences as in gender identity, physical stature ( small person Meredith Eaton is a beautiful and gifted actress), or social mores. Briefly, Kathy Bates plays a housewife who fantasizes an affair with a popular British singer (Jonathan Pryce - who not only acts well but is given the opportunity to share his significant vocal talents in person and on the soundtrack of the film). Her husband of 25 years (Dan Ackroyd) announces to her that their marriage is over because Bates is boring. That same day her idol is killed and she decides to go to England for the funeral! Once there she intrudes into the house of her fantasy man only to discover that he was gay and has a lover of 10 years (Rupert Everett) who is being ostracized by the singers' family. Persistance and happenstance throw these two together and the resultant bi-continental declaration for revenge of the death of their shared hero (with a lot of help form Bates' daughter-in-law Meredith Eaton) forms the bulk of the tale. Along the way they encounter the real life Julie Andrews, Sally Jessy Raphael, and Barry Manilow in what could have been a pushed overindulgence, but Hogan keeps the tempo down so that these guests appearances maintain the jolly mood of this fluffy but warmly entertaining movie. Definitely a feel good film!

Mathew O'Keefe Unconditional Love became an instant but accidental love when it popped up on the T- Box. September 2012 and the T-Box is offering us a 2002 Kathy Bates movie we had somehow overlooked? With little else on offer, we tuned in with absolutely no expectations, a rare but desirable state of being. What we witnessed was a camp comedy that was as outrageous as it was romantic. Whilst it moved quickly, the characters were deep and you either loved them or loved to hate them. Bates and Everett, the leads, played their roles to perfection, with Bates' performance a gem. Don't pay any attention to people saying Bates looks out of place, they seem to have missed the moment. The movie delivers in spades, if you're not laughing you're crying or being shocked by its blackness, no minority is spared. An uplifting must watch comedy, though maybe too camp for some to appreciate.