Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence

Last updated

Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence
MarthaMeetPoster.jpg
Promotional poster
Directed by Nick Hamm
Written by Peter Morgan
Produced by Grainne Marmion
Starring
Cinematography David Johnson
Edited byMichael Bradsell
Music by Edward Shearmur
Distributed by FilmFour Distributors
Release dates
  • 8 May 1998 (1998-05-08)
(UK)
  • 27 August 1999 (1999-08-27)
(US)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$5.3 million [1]

Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence (released in the United States as The Very Thought of You) is a 1998 British romantic comedy directed by Nick Hamm and starring Monica Potter and Joseph Fiennes. The screenplay by Peter Morgan focuses on the chance meeting each of three childhood friends now living in London has with an American tourist.

Contents

Plot

Fed up with her dead-end job with a Minneapolis car rental agency, Martha quits, cashes her final paycheck, and uses the money to purchase an airline ticket to the least expensive international destination she can find – London. At the airport, she meets Daniel, a successful music label executive, who covertly arranges for her to be upgraded to First Class and seated next to him on the flight. When she sells the ticket to another passenger and Daniel finds his seatmate is an obnoxiously loud woman instead of the girl of his dreams, he moves back to the Economy section and takes the vacant seat next to Martha. Before landing in London, he offers her the use of a deluxe suite in a luxury hotel at his company's expense in exchange for a lunch date the following day.

Through a series of flashbacks and flashforwards, we learn Laurence, a former bridge champion who now teaches the game to wealthy women, went to the airport to pick up Daniel but missed him because the flight landed early. Instead, he literally runs into Martha, who hits him with a luggage cart while searching for the exit. She coerces him into taking her into the city and invites him to the suite for dinner. While she is in the bathroom, a bouquet of flowers from Daniel is delivered to the suite, and when Laurence sees the attached card, he departs without explanation.

The following day, Martha meets struggling actor Frank, who has fled an audition in a panic and has gone to the park to console himself with a half-bottle of whiskey. Having heard about her from Daniel, he realises who she is and calls Laurence to boast that he is about to make her his conquest. He takes her to a nearby art gallery. Martha slips away and heads for the exit, where she reunites with Laurence, who was looking for the pair. He invites her back to his flat and she accepts.

Torn between loyalty to Daniel and love for Martha, Laurence seeks advice from Pederson, a neighbour he mistakenly believes is a psychiatrist, in the early morning hours. In the interim, Martha awakens and seeing a photograph of the three friends, assumes she has been the target of an elaborate practical joke. To get even, she separately invites each of the men to meet her for breakfast and when all three arrive, bearing floral arrangements of varying size, a brawl ensues. Laurence sees Martha running off in the distance but is unable to catch her. Despondent, he goes to a travel agency to purchase a ticket anywhere he can go for £99, which proves to be Reykjavík. At the airport gate, he is told he is being seated in First Class and when he boards the plane, he finds Martha waiting for him. She reveals she was responsible for the upgrade, a trick she learned from Daniel.

Cast

Production

The film was shot on location in Minneapolis, at Stansted Airport in Essex, and at various London locations, including Battersea Park, Blakes Hotel in South Kensington, and South Bank.

The soundtrack includes "Halo" by Texas, "Brown Paper Bag" by Roni Size, "Fall in Love with Me" by Booth and the Bad Angel, "Fools Like Us" by Echo & the Bunnymen, "Tape Loop" by Morcheeba, and "I Only Want to Be with You" by Dusty Springfield.

Reception

The film has a 33% critic approval on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 4.8/10, based on 9 reviews. [2] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 43, based on 10 reviews, considered to be "mixed or average reviews". [3]

Stephen Holden of The New York Times called the film

...one of those coyly edited movies that fills in the mystifying gaps in its story by periodically doubling back to repeat a scene with new crucial information added... To maintain its fizz, a comedy like The Very Thought of You requires the spicy contemporary equivalent of Noël Coward banter. But if the story is a clever sitcomy contraption, the dialogue is pedestrian. Among the contestants for Martha's love, the only character with a distinctive personality is Hollander's vain, petulant Daniel, whose ego is in need of puncturing. As the shy, tongue-tied Laurence, who needs lessons in self-assertion, Fiennes lacks the debonair twinkle and the comic timing of Hugh Grant, who might have made the role come alive. As for Ms. Potter's Martha, the character is a fabrication that not even Ms. Roberts with all her wiles could have made believable. [4]

Variety 's Derek Elley wrote: "Lack of real chemistry between the leads and unsteady direction by Nick Hamm dampen an otherwise promising screenplay by Peter Morgan." He also called the film "in some respects a '90s version of Richard Lester's '60s comedy The Knack ". [5]

Box office

The film grossed £1.4 million ($2.3 million) in the United Kingdom and $3 million worldwide. [6] [1]

Home media

The Region 1 DVD was released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment on 14 December 1999. The film is in anamorphic widescreen format with an audiotrack and subtitles in English. There are no bonus features. The Region 2 DVD was released on 7 June 2004.

Related Research Articles

<i>Parenthood</i> (film) 1989 film by Ron Howard

Parenthood is a 1989 American family comedy-drama film with an ensemble cast that includes Steve Martin, Tom Hulce, Rick Moranis, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, and Dianne Wiest.

<i>Onegin</i> (film) 1999 film

Onegin is a 1999 British-American romantic drama film based on Alexander Pushkin's 1833 novel in verse Eugene Onegin, co-produced by British and American companies and shot mostly in the United Kingdom. Onegin is Martha Fiennes' directorial debut and stars her brother Ralph Fiennes in the role of Yevgeny (Eugene) Onegin, Liv Tyler as Tatiana and Toby Stephens as Lensky. Two other Fiennes siblings were involved in the project: Magnus Fiennes wrote the music and Sophie Fiennes appeared in a minor role.

<i>8mm</i> (film) 1999 thriller film by Joel Schumacher

8mm is a 1999 American crime thriller film directed by Joel Schumacher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. A German–American production, the film stars Nicolas Cage as a private investigator who delves into the world of snuff films. Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare, and Anthony Heald appear in supporting roles.

<i>Red Eye</i> (2005 American film) 2005 film by directed Wes Craven

Red Eye is a 2005 American thriller film directed by Wes Craven and written by Carl Ellsworth based on a story by Ellsworth and Dan Foos. It stars Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, and Brian Cox. The story follows a hotel manager ensnared in an assassination plot by a terrorist while aboard a red-eye flight to Miami.

<i>Trouble Every Day</i> (film) 2001 French erotic horror film directed by Claire Denis

Trouble Every Day is a 2001 French erotic horror film directed by Claire Denis and written by Denis and Jean-Pol Fargeau. It stars Vincent Gallo, Tricia Vessey, Béatrice Dalle, Alex Descas and Marilu Marini. The film's soundtrack is provided by Tindersticks.

<i>The Paleface</i> (1948 film) 1948 film by Norman Z. McLeod

The Paleface is a 1948 American Comedy Western film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bob Hope as "Painless Potter" and Jane Russell as Calamity Jane. In the movie, Hope sings the song "Buttons and Bows". The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year.

Martha Maria Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English film director, writer and producer. Fiennes is best known for her film Onegin (1999), which starred her elder brother, Ralph, and her subsequent film Chromophobia (2005).

<i>The White Countess</i> 2005 British film

The White Countess is a 2005 drama film directed by James Ivory and starring Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Hiroyuki Sanada, Lynn Redgrave, Allan Corduner, and Madeleine Potter. The screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro focuses on a disparate group of displaced persons attempting to survive in Shanghai in the late 1930s.

<i>What Planet Are You From?</i> 2000 film by Mike Nichols

What Planet Are You From? is a 2000 American science fiction comedy film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Michael Leeson, Garry Shandling, Ed Solomon, and Peter Tolan based on a story by Leeson and Shandling. The film stars Shandling, Annette Bening, Greg Kinnear, Ben Kingsley, Linda Fiorentino, and John Goodman.

<i>Epic Movie</i> 2007 American parody film

Epic Movie is a 2007 American parody film written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and produced by Paul Schiff. It stars Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Jayma Mays, Jennifer Coolidge, Faune A. Chambers, Crispin Glover, Tony Cox, and Fred Willard. A parody of the epic film genre, the film mostly references The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pirates of the Caribbean, and X-Men.

<i>Jet Lag</i> (film) 2002 French film

Jet Lag is a 2002 French romantic comedy film starring Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno. It is the second film directed by Danièle Thompson, following Season's Beatings (1999).

<i>Death at a Funeral</i> (2007 film) 2007 British film

Death at a Funeral is a 2007 black comedy film directed by Frank Oz. The screenplay by Dean Craig focuses on a family attempting to resolve a variety of problems whilst they attend the funeral of the patriarch.

<i>Cthulhu</i> (2007 film) 2007 American film

Cthulhu is a 2007 American horror film directed by Dan Gildark and co-written by Grant Cogswell and Daniel Gildark. The film is loosely based on the novella The Shadow over Innsmouth (1936) by H. P. Lovecraft.

Nénette and Boni is a 1996 French drama film directed by Claire Denis, written by Denis in collaboration with Jean-Pol Fargeau.

<i>Under the Sand</i> 2000 French film

Under the Sand is a 2000 French drama film directed and written by François Ozon. The film was nominated for three César Awards and was critically well received. It stars Charlotte Rampling and Bruno Cremer.

<i>Nothing Personal</i> (2009 film) 2009 Dutch film

Nothing Personal is a 2009 Dutch-Irish drama film written and directed by Urszula Antoniak. It was presented at the Locarno International Film Festival for the international competition. It won the Golden Leopard for best debut film and Lotte Verbeek won the award for best actress. The film won four Golden Calves at the Dutch Film Festival of 2009, including best film.

<i>Friends with Kids</i> 2011 American film

Friends with Kids is a 2011 American romantic comedy film written, produced, and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, who also stars in the film. Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Megan Fox, and Edward Burns also star in the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Hamm</span> Irish film, television, and theatre director and producer

Nick Hamm is a film, television, and theater director and producer born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He won a BAFTA for his drama The Harmfulness of Tobacco starring Edward Fox.

<i>Clear History</i> 2013 American TV series or program

Clear History is a 2013 American comedy television film directed by Greg Mottola, written by Larry David, Alec Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer, and starring Larry David, Kate Hudson, Danny McBride, Philip Baker Hall, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Amy Ryan, Bill Hader and J. B. Smoove. The film premiered on August 10, 2013, on HBO.

<i>The Party</i> (2017 film) 2017 film

The Party is a 2017 British black comedy film written and directed by Sally Potter. The film was shot in black and white and features a seven-actor ensemble of Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas and Timothy Spall.

References

  1. 1 2 Peter Cowie, ed. (1999). The Variety Almanac 1999. Boxtree Ltd. p. 183. ISBN   0-7522-2454-9.
  2. ↑ "The Very Thought of You (Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence) (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes . Flixster . Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Very Thought of You Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  4. ↑ Holden, Stephen (27 August 1999). "'The Very Thought of You': A Pretty Woman, but the Wrong One". The New York Times . Retrieved 26 March 2009.
  5. ↑ Elley, Derek (13 May 1998). "Review: 'Martha – Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence'". Variety .
  6. ↑ "British biz at the box office". Variety . 14 December 1998. p. 72.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.