Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Drama > Comedy > Teens > Pregnancy > British TV > Telefilm > The Bad Mother’s Handbook (2007/British TV Movie/Lionsgate DVD)

The Bad Mother’s Handbook (2007/British TV Movie/Lionsgate DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Telefilm: C+

 

 

Just before he broke out in the Twilight films, Robert Pattinson was making his rounds as a young character actor and in the midst of his Harry Potter films, he did a British TV movie called The Bad Mother’s Handbook (2007), about a woman named Karen (Catherine Tate good in a somewhat thankless role) who overdoes running her household when it backfires and her daughter Charlotte (Holly Grainger) gets pregnant at too young an age and unmarried.

 

One thing she does not realize is how much of a crush dorky, introverted, awkward Daniel (Pattinson) has on her and will soon be more of a support to her than she could have ever imagined.  This is a short 67 minutes and a U.S. remake was actually made a year later by ABC with Alicia Silverstone, Megan Mullally and Horatio Sanz, but this is not bad considering some of its predictability.

 

Director Robin Shepperd (who helmed the hilarious early episodes of At Home With The Braithwaites, reviewed elsewhere on this site) brings the same energy and intelligence to this project and though the cast is not bad, Pattinson actually strands out in a comic, scene-stealing role that shows he does have a sense of humor and comic timing.  Without the living dead make-up, he looks at least five years younger.  You could do worse than this and it is worth a look for those interested.

 

The letterboxed 1.78 X 1 image is a little soft and has its motion blur, but the overall shoot is not bad, but this is an HD shoot.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix tries to stretch out what is a simple stereo soundtrack at best, but the actual recording is not too bad.  There are no extras.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com