Review of Tamara Drewe (2010) by Jamsey K — 11 Oct 2010

Stephen Frears proves that it is possible to do a romantic comedy as something other than a tooch-aching Jennifer Aniston and/or Lopez vehicle. Just as 'Brigid Jones' Diary' is an update of 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Tamara Drewe' reimagines 'Far From The Madding Crowd'--of all novels. Thomas Hardy as a...rom-com!

Using a famous novel as the basis for this film serves several happy purposes. The novel gives the film's plot some borrowed interest and complexity. The viewer can have fun comparing the treatment of characters in the book with the gloss in the movie.

The satire of a Hardy village updated to London exurb, along with the inspired idea of plunking down a writer's retreat in the village to provide a vehicle for literate dialogue, gives even minor characters lots of opportunity to be funny. The 'writers' at the retreat have some of the best lines.

Tamara Drewe(Gemma Arterton), the Bathsheba/Julie Christie character, returns to her childhood home miraculously reborn as a femme fatale--thanks to the world's best rhinoplasty. She effortlessly seduces all the local men. The girl can't help it. The village guys thankfully include a gorgeous hunk as the 'man of the soil' who is her inevitable destiny. Major eye-candy.

The tween girls who get everyone into trouble as deus ex machina and Greek chorus--they both manipulate the other characters and provide commentary--are a perfect combination of wised-up and clueless.

'Jailbait Jody' (the character and the movie's theme song)is jailbait indeed--given her semi-criminal behavior motivated by her crush on the rocker played by Dominic Cooper. He plays Tamara Drewe's second-best love interest--the drummer for a 'Blur'/'Oasis' kind of Britpop band called 'Swipe'. Jody's crush on the drummer sets up the disastrous succession of farcical scenes that make up the last half of the movie.

Consistently funny and entertaining. Could see it again just to savor the witty dialogue.