The Trouble with Jessica

The trouble with Jessica is hilarious and dark, charming yet tragic- a farcical comedy brimming with social observations and emotional twists and turns. The cast is terrific at delivering witty and ruthless dialogue whilst playing self absorbed monied liberals -making watching them sweat and squirm all the more enjoyable. There are poignant and witty observations about relationships and the hypocrisy of the wealthy. The jazz score elevates the slap stick elements and ramps up the panic, anxiety and the high tension. It has a lightness of touch within a deeply dark subject matter. It was 90 minutes of devilish deliciousness!

The cast were fabulous, I found Rufus Sewell particularly funny and although moments of the story seemed bonkers, it somehow became plausible. I laughed throughout and enjoyed the nuance of dialogue between friends and partners. I enjoyed the unraveling of what starts out as a perfectly normal setting into unexpected chaos, disappointment, jealously, entitlement and self satisfaction, always fabulous themes of the human condition to which this film delivers. Each scene is crafted in a such a way that I became the voyeur, relishing the discomfort of the characters, and pending predicament! Wondering if judgement would prevail. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and highly recommend.

I watched this on netflix and really enjoyed it. It felt like a stage play adapted for a tv film. Excellent actors. Fantastic dialogue. I had never heard of Clafoutis!! The plot is full of twists. It has slapstick. I am surprised the movie has not scored higher here on IMDB. I do not want to give away spoilers but I initially just wanted to play 2 minutes before I went to bed so it would appear on my 'still watching' list but I watched the whole thing because it grabbed my attention and I could not break away. I thought I knew what the ending would be but I was wrong. How can Indira Varma still look so sexy? She does not seem to age. Enjoy.

Saw this at the Curzon in Knutsford and found the first 15 minutes rather dull and pointless. Lots of swearing and flirting at a middle class dinner party in a London suburb. Yawn.

But then BOOM!! Huge twist suddenly comes out of nowhere and the film takes on a completely different feeling.

Now we see the four main characters dealing with a desperate situation that can only be resolved one way. This is when the giggles come thick and first. I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud so often in a cinema. This film really tickled my funny bone. Not just through good old slapstick but by backing each character into a corner to see what lengths they will go to.

Layers are peeled off to reveal the vulnerabilities and hidden truths with an outstanding script. A nosy neighbour and some bumbling cops are also thrown in to further increase the comedic tension.

The only reason I couldn't give it a ten was the odd soundtrack that was a bit distracting and the rather wooden performance of Alan Tudyk.

Other than that, the best comedy I've seen in years.

The trouble with "The Trouble With Jessica", despite it being a neatly cast dark Brit dramedy, is co-writers Matt Winn (who also directed) & James Handel's inconsistent tone that lapses in style from serious wordy play (albeit one with the characters taking ridiculously implausible actions) to bursts of "A Weekend At Bernies" crass slapstick. Middle-class Londoners Alan Tudyk & Shirley Henderson host friends Rufus Sewell & Olivia Williams for dinner, which free-spirited pal Indira Varma effectively crashes... sparking the evening to wildly spiral. Sewell & Henderson particularly are great, but their film does not know what it is to be... and THAT is the trouble.