Review of Hyde Park on Hudson (2012) by Thomas W — 07 Jan 2013

First thing is first, as I have mentioned before I try to watch as many movies nominated for awards as possible. I'm a firm believer in you can't complain about what is nominated without seeing the movies nominated.

So looking over the Golden Globe nominates I saw Bill Murray up for Best Actor in a Comedy for "Hyde Park on Hudson". One would naturally think "Bill Murray+Comedy=Gold". However, this is not a comedy in any way shape or form and his least funny movie ever.

Here he plays Franklin Roosevelt(yes the president) in 1939 and is about to host the King and Queen of England for a week at the Roosevelt home. Amid all this he juggles his wife, his mother, and a woman whom he has a "special" relationship with Daisy(Laura Linney).

They don't really have an affair, but they have an affair, and at the heart of the movie is their relationship. How they just drive off and enjoy being alone together away from the world. Sound funny? Yeh, it didn't to me either.

This film is pretty boring, although Murray and Linney are both great, just as they are in everything else they do. But this is not a comedy, it's a drama. The only laughs are at the expense of the King Bertie(the King from "King's Speech" with the studdering problem), but there is really only like one scene of his that will get a chuckle.

It moves slow, even though the story is intriguing and offers a good glimpse at President Roosevelt that no other movie(that I know of) has offered. Decent for a one time watch, but don't expect a comedy.

Expect a drama that drags, and you won't be too disappointed.