The Trouble with Jessica

A dinner party from hell or what? We quickly learn that hosts "Sarah" (Shirley Henderson) and husband "Tom" (Alan Tudyk) are having to sell their luxury home else face repossession. For some reason that seemed like a good reason to invite long-term friends "Richard" (Rufus Sewell) and wife "Beth" (Olivia Williams) round for food. It's the latter who throws a real spanner in the works by inviting the eponymous "Jessica" (Indira Varma). Let's just say that the hostess and this guest get on like a house that's already burnt down, and as the vino flows (tiny measures in huge great glasses) things come to an head that leaves the four with quite an headache. What now ensues might well have worked on stage, indeed the entire film has a theatrical style to it, but I found it all just a bit to hysteria-prone, contrived and over-dramatic. None of the actors are on especially good form, especially the lacklustre Tudyk and the script seems more determined to make sure each character gets their moment in the spotlight rather than designed to offer us something to laugh - or even smile at. On that front, there are the odd lines to make you titter, but just not enough of them to pass this feature-length more miss than hit sit-com. It will pass ninety minutes easily enough at Christmas on the telly, but nothing much more than that, sorry.

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.

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.

Put wealthy, middle aged friends with a past, plus a current financial problem, in a dinner party in Hampstead one evening and bring an unexpected guest who causes havoc. This film is funny, keeps you on the edge of your seat to see what happens next and the performances from seven of the key cast are wonderful - including Shirley Henderson, Rufus Sewell. Olivia Williams, Alan Tudyk (though he looks a bit orange throughout), Indira Varma, Anne Reid and Groth, the house buyer. The two policemen are fun too in almost Dogberry and Verges roles.

However, it feels a little like it should be (or was originally) a play. The action happens almost entirely in one (very large) kitchen and the ground floor of a house filled with fabulous art.

There is quite a lot of swearing but to me it seemed appropriate to our protagonists, given who they are and the situation they find themselves in. No spoilers!

This was a really fun evening's viewing - interesting predicament, some farce, some irony, lots of laughs, some soul searching and great perfomances - and I make a great clafoutis too!

Of course they would never have got away with it - DNA all over everything and wrong ligature - but I don't really care. Suspend disbelief and enjoy.

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.