Review of Birthday Girl (2002) by Jessica F — 23 Feb 2010

John (Ben Chaplin) is a quiet bank clerk who lives alone and is settled into a comfortable routine, until he sends off for a Russian mail-order bride who comes in the form of a non-speaking woman in Nadia (Nicole Kidman). Apparently, he was under the impression she spoke English and tries to send her back, but she is quite adamant on staying with him. She uses sexual advances on the seducing of him, which he grows fond of. Everything seems to be going smoothly, until two friends of Nadia's drop by on her birthday. One speaks English, which sort of relaxes John, the other, relies on translation from the English speaking friend. Things start to go awry from there, until it leads John on the run for a robbery that he was forced to commit by one of the friends. The situation is sort of a "coming out" for John and brings some excitement to his life.

I love Nicole Kidman and the Russian accent she had here. She can play an innocent-looking seductress quite well. But, that's where it ends. Birthday Girl takes a turn for the worst and introduces abysmal plot schemes to a film that was already lacking from the start. Birthday Girl doesn't know which route to take.