QUARTET - QUEERGURU

For his directorial debut two time Oscar Winner Dustin Hoffman got himself an Oscar Winning Writer, Ronald Harwood (‘The Pianist’), a veritable who’s who of the cream of British actors led by two time Oscar Winner Dame Maggie Smith and yet all he could produce was a disapointing dud of a movie. Such a waste of fine talent.

Dame Maggie, in fine fettle, is Jean Horton, a world-class Opera Diva now in her 70’s and penniless, and the newest resident of Beecham House a retirement home for professional musicians who have fallen on hard times. The House is in danger of being closed …. not that you would notice anything amiss in this rather luxurious Manor House ….. and so the residents are throwing a Gala Performance to raise enough funds to keep a roof over their heads. Jean arrives just after the star performer has gone to the big stage in the sky, so the other residents try to persuade her to re-unite with old colleagues, also residents there, to re-create their famous performance of the Quartet from Rigoletto. The trouble is she doesn’t want to sing in public again now her voice is not what it was, but more importantly the tenor is her ex-husband who she hasn’t spoken to for decades.

Hoffman has cast the piece really well, and playing Reggie the scorned ex is Sir Tom Courtney (‘The Dresser’), Billy Connolly (‘Brave’) is lecherous Wilf who insists on flirting with every female in the whole place, and Cissie the ditsy fourth member of the quartet is played by the delicious Pauline Collins. (‘Shirley Valentine’), Micheal Gambon (‘Harry Potter Series’) plays Cedric the bossy show director, and amongst the actors there are real opera singers too, and Dame Gwyneth Jones is a sheer delight as Anne Langley who can still hit all the high notes even at her ripe old age.

It is a sweet enough inoffensive story and the music is good, but Harwood serves these great acting talents so badly with his script that can be best be described as dull. ‘Exotic Marigold Hotel’ it isn’t …… but then again if, like me, you would even turn up to see Dame Maggie read the phone directory, you will still want to see this.

Available now at Amazon
★★★★★★