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Last Chance Harvey

By Bob on August 17, 2009 11:16 AM

Last Chance Harvey is a movie that starts out going nowhere and ends there 93 minutes later. 

Don't get me wrong, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson are two very likeable actors.  We've all seen them in movies we love (The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, Love Actually and Stranger than Fiction).  The problem with Harvey and his last chance is that you've seen this all before.  Hundreds of times.  It's a movie that treads water ever so lightly and in true Hollywood fashion nobody seems to get wet.

 

The plot is paper thin.  Harvey Shine (Hoffman) is a likeable guy who travels to London to attend his daughter's wedding.  He's spent a lifetime (you never really know how old he is, but clues are dropped often) as a jingle-writing-jaded-jazz-pianist who is divorced and about to lose his job.

 


Anyone who's seen "An Affair to Remember"

knows what happens next


He lands at Heathrow airport and brushes by survey-taker Kate Walker (Emma Thompson) to rush off to a dinner where he's just barely made the final cut on the guest list.  The real cuts for Harvey come later through his ex wife (Kathy Baker) his daughter (Liane Balban) and his ex-wife's husband (James Brolin) who each make his insignificance understood to everyone within earshot.

 

Harvey's not the only odd-man-out in this romantic melodrama.  After enduring the indignities heaped on him at his daughter's rehearsal dinner and wedding he heads back to Heathrow and bumps into (surprise!) survey-taker Kate Walker.  The aging American trades barbs with the brassy Brit between shots of Johnnie Walker.  Kate takes a shine to Mr. Shine and the 40-something spinster lets him tag along with her for the rest of the day.

 

By day's end Harvey and Kate are in "like" and decide to meet again at noon the next day.  Anyone who's seen "An Affair to Remember" knows what happens next.  The pair does find a way to reconnect through implausible if not impossible scenarios.  In doing so they also afford Harvey the opportunity of achieving reconciliation with his estranged family.  The story reaches its incomplete conclusion that leaves the audience wondering what they just witnessed.

 

Last Chance Harvey is well cast, acted and directed.  Its greatest sin is one of omission - not commission.  These are incomplete characters servicing an unconvincing plot (why Kate doesn't have Harvey arrested as a stalker is one question you'll ask yourself) wandering towards an unsatisfying end. 

 

Hoffman and Thompson deserve better.  It would be a shame if Last Chance Harvey were really their last chance.   

 

The Boomer Brief recommends Netflix for your movie rentals.  The monthly rental packages start at only $4.99 - and you can cancel at any time.

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Diabetes-Friendly Chicken Burrito Bowl

ChickenBurritoBowlEverydayDiabetes 600.jpg

By Laura Cipullo and Lisa Mikus, authors of Everyday Diabetes Meals
Image credit: Colin Erricson

Prepare your own Mexican quick fix with this Chipotle-inspired bowl. Carbs are moderated by filling the bowl with beans, extra veggies and chicken. No need for rice, since the beans count as carbs.

Tips:

If you love tomatoes, increase the quantity to 1/2 cup, but note that the carbohydrates will also increase.

If preparing this recipe for one person, cut all of the ingredients in half. Or simply prepare the full recipe up to the end of step 2 and store leftover chicken and vegetable-bean mixture in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat in the microwave on High for 1 to 2 minutes, or until heated through, and continue with step 3.

Health Bite: The iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper and zinc in black beans help to keep bones strong and healthy.

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Windy City

It's been almost 18 years since Alison Krauss gave us a solo album, but the wait is over with Windy City. The release (her fifth solo studio album) features ten covers of classic songs (and some bonus tracks) she picked with producer Buddy Cannon.

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