The couple film a successful TV cooking program together with Coogan playing Erasmus Bumble as its star and Rudd is Paul his long-suffering partner and producer. They constantly bicker on and off the set as only long-standing couples comfortable in their relationships do, and beneath this surface, it is very clear that the two are very much in love.
Then suddenly into their rather indulgent lifestyle in an opulent villa in Sante Fe, appears a young boy out of the blue who turns out to be Erasmus’s grandson Angel (Jack Gore). Evidently, one drunken night in his youth Erasmus had slept with a girl who had then got pregnant and insisted on giving birth and keeping the baby even though Erasmus disappeared from both of their lives. Now as Beau (Jake McDorman) the son was in prison for drug dealing, he had insisted that Angel go seek help from his grandfather.
So suddenly Erasmus and Paul who had previously failed to manage to keep a dog, are faced with the reality that they must become ‘parents’ no matter how reluctant they may be. The way that Angel (who insists on being called Bill) impacts their hedonistic lifestyle is hilarious, but by the time the officious female inspector from Child Services pays a visit several weeks later, the two men have turned 360 degrees and now desperately want to keep Bill as part of their family.
Erasmus and Paul make a strange but loving pair of role-models for the boy and the total openness about their sexuality makes it a complete non-issue for Bill or anyone else. It’s only when Paul realizes that Erasmus has forced him into the role of the main caregiver, does that start impacting their own relationship.
There is a wonderful authenticity about the whole movie which stems from the excellent meaningful script that gives Coogan so many opportunities to display his perfect comic timing and Rudd a chance to shine with the quick-witted one-line zingers he gets to deliver with his own particular style.
This delightful and entertaining story with its unusual take on same-sex parenting has this slightly serious side to it, as it is clearly also a chance for Erasmus to get some sort of redemption for failing his own son who has spent his life in and out of jail.
The last time Coogan worked with Andrew Fleming was in Hamlet 2 which was one of the most over-hyped and expensive movies to come out of Sundance, that then just died a very sudden and painful death at the Box Office. There is certainly no fear of that here as this totally delightful movie is certain to be a very firm favorite within the LGBT community and beyond.
Labels: 2018, comedy, same sex parenting
