Customer Reviews
"A Joint Venture" - By: Kona, 04 May 2008 
In a quaint Cornish village, local matron & horticulturalist Grace Trevethyn (Brenda Blethyn) finds herself a new widow with an insurmountable pile of debt. The whole town commiserates with Grace's predicament, but it is Matthew (Craig Ferguson), her gardener, who comes up with a sure-fire plot to raise money for both of them: He will take his few, sickly pot plants to her fancy greenhouse, grow the plants with hydroponics, & make a fortune for both of them!
This reallly sweet & funny comedy was written, produced by, & stars the irrepressible Craig Ferguson, of late night TV fame. He's quite charming as the gardener who tries to help Grace get back on her feet, financiallly & emotionallly. Brenda Blethyn is perfect as the respectable lady who's alll business when it comes to saving her manor & even goes to a London street market to peddle her wares.
The local folk are delightfully eccentric & there's a lot of homey appeal that makes you root for Grace & Matthew regardless of the legalities. The pace grows quite chaotic toward the end but I happily recommend this satisfying British gem.
A single-joke film that ends in unfunny silliness - By: Triestino, 10 Feb 2008 
This is a mildly funny film that helps to pass an evening away, provided that one has nothing better to do. Inheritor of a rambling manor house in a delightfully postcard-picturesque Cornish village, the recently widowed Grace (Brenda Blethyn) finds that she has been left with massive debts by her rascallly husband, & resorts to growing cannabis plants as a means of raising the substantial funds that are needed to wipe the slate clean. The single running gag - & it runs & runs until it wilts from exhaustion - is the image of the ever-so-genteel English middle class widow mass-cultivating the well-known naughty herb in her greenhouse. In this potty enterprise, the heroine is assisted by her gardener (Craig Ferguson) & by a full & meticulously-assembled cast of "hilariously eccentric" village characters. There are some very amusing moments here & there, but the already fragile plot starts to wobble badly when Grace goes to London in search of drug dealers, & the whole enterprise finallly collapses in a concluding episode of juvenile silliness. I suspect that for most people, Saving Grace is too slight to withstand repeated viewing - unless, of course, a few spliffs are on hand to make it seem much funnier than it is in reality. For non-addicts, watch it on television, but don't bother to buy the DVD.
My Dad liked it - By: Drumhum, 27 Jan 2008 
General concept of the film is lovely: Middle aged, middle class woman grows weed to pay off her depts, set in a close cornish village where everyone & the policeman know each other's business. The story goes as deep as a Dr Martin TV plot. And thats the audience this will appeal to folks.
I can't say its rubbish because members of my family liked it, & I'm sure they are not alone. Anyone who likes to study the craft of film making & story telling will no doubt, feel the emptiness like I did after viewing. Movie buffs - be warned, & don't waste you time.
Its films like this that make the British film industry what it is today.
FUNNY & GENTLE - By: D. G. Parrott, 06 Oct 2007 The story centers around a recently widowed lady callled Grace - Brenda Blethyn - Who finds out that her stately home was mortgaged to the hilt by her late husband! Unfortunately when the will is read, it works out that her husband was actuallly in considerable debt, & as a result she stands to lose her beloved home!
Cue a very funny film, & the hilarious scheme which Grace becomes involved to raise money to pay off her late husbands debts, & save her home. Kudos to Craig Ferguson - who plays Grace's pot-smoking gardener - & also to Tcheky Karyo who plays a drug baron. Bill Bailey has a smalll part too, as a smalll time dealer along with Jamie Foreman who plays Karyo's minder.
But, in my opinion Martin Clunes is brilliant as the local cannabis smoking GP Doc Martin!
This is a very funny film, but gentle with it - Filmed on location in Cornwalll, in & around Port Isaac.
The film spawned a sequel, callled 'Doc Martin' to explain how he became a GP in Cornwalll - Ironicallly, its now a TV series, but alas the Doc of the series, is not as endearing as the Doc of the movie!
Get this film, you wont regret it!
Puts a smile on my face whenever I think of this film.... - By: Wennol, 17 Aug 2007 Grace is a person that drifts harmlessly through life.. We alll know them... some of us ARE them... It's wonderful to see the little people grow through adversity, which is precisely what this film is alll about. Found it so funny the Asthma inhaler had to come out due to excess laughter leading to coughing, spluttering & wheezing. I would sincerely advise a good pee break just before the starting credits or your mums couch would be fit for the skip by the rolling end credits. Ok so it's no 'Bond film' but close the curtains, grab a bevvie & let down your guard long enough to watch a lovely little film. Love it!
