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What the media says
"TWO THUMBS UP!" - Ebert & Roeper
ROGER EBERT: In "A FOREIGN AFFAIR," Tim Blake Nelson and David Arquette play bachelor farmers named Jake and Josh, who don't know who's going to keep house for them, now that their mother has died. So they take one of those romance charter flights to Russia to go shopping for a foreign exchange bride.
Complicating their search is a documentary being made by a British filmmaker, played by Emily Mortimer, who challenges their real motives.
So, okay, they are male chauvinist pigs. But the would-be brides are eager to take advantage of them, and so nobody's sincere. Tim Blake Nelson brings a real poignancy to the character, nicely balanced by Arquette, as the younger brother who suddenly finds himself irresistible to women, and doesn't seem to understand it's because he's offering them a ticket on the Yankee gravy train. "A Foreign Affair" could have been just a routine comedy, but it's observant and thoughtful and a little sad, and, yeah, it's funny. It opens in LA and Miami this weekend and will roll out wider in weeks to come. Thumbs up.
RICHARD ROEPER: Well, I am still processing the fact that you gave thumbs up to "VAN HELSING."
ROGER: Oh, get used to it.
RICHARD: But I am in agreement with you here on "A FOREIGN AFFAIR."
ROGER: Oh, good. I'm glad you regained your sanity.
RICHARD: Well, one of us has here definitely. Yeah! This is a unique little piece of work. I thought Tim Blake Nelson did a nice job there. And the Arquette character, David Arquette sometimes he plays characters who start a movie, they're so far off the charts, there's nowhere for him to go. But, here it's kind of fun watch him become this playboy. Kind of reminded me of the Wild and Crazy Guys from the old Saturday Night Live sketches. And Emily Mortimer, I think is really good.
ROGER: Oh, she's a very good actress, yes.
RICHARD: She's finding a lot of work here, and she's not classically beautiful, but she's really attractive and sexy and interesting.
ROGER: The way she looks at Tim Blake Nelson tells all kinds of things that don't have to be put into words. And you know, the people that made this movie, there is actually a website...
RICHARD: Sure!
ROGER: ...just like the one in the movie, and they went to the website, they took the tour. They did the research. These things really happen. And I think that the movie is based largely on fact.
RICHARD: Which is pretty amazing too. There's also one very dark twisted laugh towards the end of the film and it took me by surprise. But, I have to admit it's really funny. Good piece of work.
http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/040510.html
By PAUL FISHER for DARK HORIZONS
The final film of the evening was a major surprise and easily one of the best films at Sundance thus far: A Foreign Affair. This wonderful charmer casts David Arquette and Tim Blake-Nelson as two brothers who need household help on their farm after their mother passes away. They decide to join a romance tour to Russia to find and bring home a traditionally minded wife. One wife for both, that is. Partly comic in an absurdist way and partly very human, A Foreign Affair is a wry comment on the whole notion of romance tours. Yet at the same writer Geert Heetebrij and director Helmut AUISchleppi have also crafted a succinct film about brotherly love, dependence, patriarchy and marriage, in a briskly directed romantic comedy/drama that takes audiences by surprise. Beautifully shot on location in St Petersburg, the film boasts memorable work by Blake-Nelson and Arquette who have never been better as they are here. Exemplified by a soft musical score, A Foreign Affair is one of the sleeper hits at Sundance. It is surprises such as this that makes Sundance such a pleasurable experience.
http://darkhorizons.com/news03/sun2.htm
By SCOTT WEINBERG for FILM THREAT
(SCREENED AT THE 2003 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL) - American romantic comedies, for the most part, suck. Let's face it: the studios will always keep churning out the exact same female wish-fulfillment chaff as long as the grosses stay
around $60 million domestic. Which means we'll see more Kate Hudson/Sandra Bullock/Meg Ryan movies that offer nothing new, nothing funny, and
absolutely nothing worthwhile. And watch: a clever little romance like this one will struggle to earn one-fifth of J. Lo's latest paycheck.
If you're expecting the same old mistaken identity/idiots in love with the
wrong person formula schtick, leave those expectations at the door with this
movie. A Foreign Affair may not be a revolutionary tale in its own right,
but it succeeds mainly by not being the 'same old thing'. Plus it's sweet in some
spots, funny in others, and oddly touching throughout.
Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother Where Art Thou?) and David Arquette (Eight
Legged Freaks) star as Josh and Jake, two small-town vegetable farmers and brothers
who know next to nothing about women. When their doting old mother passes
away in the night, the brothers' biggest concern (aside from the burial of
course) is finding a new woman to take care of them.
Now before you get your panties in a bunch, keep in mind that these guys are
fairly slow. Not stupid or near-retarded like you'd see in a sitcom, but
just a bit naive - and more than a little lacking in social skills. Their plan to
'share' a wife is borne from their inability to cook and keep a suitable
house; sex is not a priority. Imagine two overgrown (and surprisingly
endearing) boys looking for a suitable nanny.
Since these guys have virtually no chance of landing a lady through
conventional methods, Josh books two tickets to Russia as part of the
"Foreign Affair" singles program. In theory, it's a great outfit: lonely men
looking for wives attend a series of 'socials', meet-markets intended to
pair up single men with green card-hungry gals. Only when you inject the whole
"love" concept does the program seem a bit...icky.
But these boys aren't exactly looking for love, and that's one of the main
reasons that A Foreign Affair is a surprisingly unique little flick. Much
like last year's wholly underrated Birthday Girl, loneliness (and not
horniness) is what sets things in motion.
Tim Blake Nelson is a great actor. If all you know of this guy is his work
in O Brother and Minority Report, you're missing a lot. Though an untraditional
sort of 'leading man', Nelson owns this movie whole. More of a surprise is
the excellent work by David Arquette, who deftly avoids the wide-eyed
hysterics that he usually employs. The guy's certainly no Olivier, but A
Foreign Affair marks a confident step forward for the former 1-800-COLLECT
pitchman.
Intent on stealing the heart of every man who sees her is an actress named
Emily Mortimer. American audiences know her best from flicks like Scream 3
and The Kid, though her stunning turn in indie flick Lovely and Amazing is
something that deserves to be seen. This time around, Mortimer plays a
British documentarian alternately fascinated and bemused by the whole
"Foreign Affair" scenario. Needless to say, the actress is great here,
bringing a down-to-earth 'everygirl' sensibility to her role - one that's
entirely necessary for one to accept the late-stage romantic entanglements.
Overall, the flick's a charmer; an unassuming and quietly confident little
movie that delivers affable characters, a clever concept, some winning
visual flairs, and a few mild lessons along the way. All in all, a solid indie that
should manage to find a small (yet appreciative) audience.
A Foreign Affair is an altogether enjoyable diversion, a light and clever
comedy that offers some great performances in a unique setting. Plus it's
about ten times more sincere and entertaining than what normally passes for
romantic comedies these days. Keep an eye on your local 'art houses' and
toss this one a few bucks when it stops by.
Worth A Look Scott Weinberg - 01/28/03 17:48:09
http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=6932&reviewer=128
By SCOTT FOUNDAS for DAILY VARIETY
Writer Geert Heetebrij and director Helmut Schleppi's "A Foreign Affair" is built around a real Web site (aforeignaffair.net) that organizes European romance tours for American bachelors seeking foreign brides. But pic isn't nearly as crass as the product-placement premise makes it sound. In fact, it's anything but a ringing endorsement of its Internet-matchmaking sponsor, finding much to be skeptical about at the idea of love-at-first-byte. Slight, but charming pic, acquired for U.S. release during Cannes market by Innovation Film Group, should attract some attention thanks to its odd premise and winning cast, but seems a much surer bet for ancillary success. Pic is an odd concoction: an English-language movie made by Dutch filmmakers working with an American cast on location in Russia and Mexico. That strangeness, combined with sharp casting and affectionate performances, is a big part of "Affair's" charm.
On a farm, somewhere in the Western U.S. (though South-of-the-border filming doesn't quite match), brothers Jake (Tim Blake Nelson) and Josh (David Arquette) must find a replacement who can assume the cooking, cleaning and other housekeeping duties that have gone undone since their mom (Lois Smith) recently died.
Since the brothers don't have the money to hire help, Jake decides he and Josh need a wife -- and can make do with one woman to look after them both. When efforts to find a game local girl fail, Jake discovers the Foreign Affair Web site at the local library, with help from amusingly played librarian Allyce Beasley.
Before long, the brothers are off to St. Petersburg to meet a series of prospective brides --and the scenes in which Jake interviews his finalists are among the funniest in the film. Meanwhile, for Josh, who's always lived life in his older brother's protective shadow, Russia is a bold revelation -- he emerges from his dreary, unkempt shell and decides he wants a girl he loves rather than one Jake finds acceptable.
It's fun to watch the talented Arquette go through Josh's transformation, shedding his baggy, farm-boy overalls in favor of Euro-chic partywear in his comically self-serious bridal pursuit. Nelson does a minor variation on the twangy, down-home Southerner routine he's perfected in movies like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and "Holes." Director Schleppi keeps the audience at a distance from the characters; there's no sense of what's going on inside their heads and hearts. It takes a wonderful turn from Emily Mortimer ("Lovely and Amazing," "Young Adam") playing a TV journo making a docu about the romance tour experience to keep up interest enough to get to the cleverly orchestrated surprises in pic's final moments.
With her cautious approach to the tour itself and to Jake (whom she finds herself falling for), Mortimer's Angela is the calm at the center of "A Foreign Affair's" irrational storm; she gives the whole airy enterprise some weight. And the disarming, hilarious excerpts from Angela's documentary (composed of real interviews conducted by Mortimer with real Foreign Affair customers during the making of the film) are by far the best thing in the movie.
Pic's production values veer toward minimalist, though "Northfork" d.p. M. David Mullen's video lensing makes tidy use of some scenic Russian locales.
Camera (color, DV), M. David Mullen; editor, Schleppi; music, Todd Holden Capps; sound, Gilles Kuiper, assistant director, David J. Bijker. Reviewed at IFP Los Angeles Film Festival, June 19, 2003. (Also in Sundance, Cannes film festivals.) Running time: 98 MIN.
© Copyright 2003, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. c 2003 Variety, Inc.
http://www.myriadpictures.com/reviews_articles.php?article=18
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