Mostly, I watched this for Rowan Atkinson. In that regard, I was only partially satisfied, as this is certainly the most serious role I've seen him in, despite this being a black comedy. However, his not being his usual silly self doesn't mean that his performance wasn't any good; it was, in fact, great. Maggie Smith was fairly decent, and Patrick Swayze was surprisingly perfect for the role of the slimy and profiteering american.
Still, this is a british black comedy, which to me generally automatically equals a great film. In this case, not so much. While it has its moments and while the concept is interesting, the movie sort of jumbles the comedy and dramatic aspects together, which makes it seem like it has a bit of an identity crisis. I didn't get bored, I couldn't predict exactly what was going to happen, but I just didn't get as entertained or hooked as I expected. Guess that's just what happens when you start generalizing movie quality based on what country it's from.
In a sentence:
Good performances from Atkinson and Swayze, but a bit of a toss-up in every other department and not all that engaging. Still, it has its moments.
