Saving Grace

Theatrical Release Date: 2000 08 04 (USA - Limited) / 2000 08 18 (USA - Expanding)

UPC: 794043514227

Studio: New Line Home Video

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Adult Language, Substance Abuse]

Summary: Waking Ned Divine (1998) meets Up in Smoke (1978) in this wacky British comedy about growing marijuana. Grace Trevethan (Brenda Blethyn is a cheerful upper-class housewife and gardening enthusiast who is blithefully unaware of business matters. This all changes when she learns that her husband fell from an airplane without a parachute. Her husband's numerous hare-brained schemes at getting rich quick left their accounts in utter ruin. Worse, if she does not raise 300,000 pounds quickly, she might lose her manor. Out of sheer desperation, she turns to her oddball Scottish gardener Matthew (Craig Ferguson), who suggests growing pot. Grace puts her green thumb to work, and in the blink of an eye the greenhouse is converted into the biggest marijuana farm in Cornwall. Soon, word gets out to the not unsympathetic townspeople, including the local doctor -- who is somewhat of a pot enthusiast -- and a horror flick-loving Vicar. Unfortunately, a nervy French drug lord (Tcheky Karyo) also learns of their scheme and soon starts causing trouble. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Category: Comedy

Awards: Audience Award – Sundance Film Festival Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – null Best Newcomer – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Widescreen and full-screen version of the film
Two feature-length commentaries featuring actors Brenda Blethyn and Craig Ferguson
5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
Cast and crew filmographies
Original theatrical trailer
DVD-ROM content: link to the original theatrical website
Interactive menus

Saving Grace

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 12/19/2000

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope, 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, 2 PCM stereo

Runtime: 95 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1
0. scene selections
1. Main Titles [4:33]
2. The Wake [4:23]
3. One Month Later [4:26]
4. Grace Under Pressure [4:16]
5. Matthew's Plants [7:57]
6. Worth More Than Gold [4:16]
7. Let There Be Light/News [4:35]
8. Buying Supplies [2:56]
9. The Other Woman [3:17]
10. Sampling the Goods [4:37]
11. Hard Work/Nicky [7:27]
12. Grace Hit the Streets [2:43]
13. Nicky's Confession [2:14]
14. Honey's Referral [4:01]
15. Jacques [7:30]
16. Returning Home [3:27]
17. Matthew & Nicky/Corn Flakes [4:22]
18. Grace's Visitors/Up in Smoke [9:30]
19. Safe at Home [4:21]
20. Epilogue [3:41]
21. End Credits [:00]

Karl Williams

The second film from writer and star Craig Ferguson, this comedy was a modest worldwide success at the box office, joining other such recent imports as The Full Monty (1997) and Waking Ned Devine (1998) in creating a vibrant new international market for British films. Brenda Blethyn gives a typically adroit performance as the film's central character, playing the part with a requisite combination of gritty determination and blissful na?vet?, opposing qualities that the actress engenders with great skill. Ferguson expands his range with a gentle, kindhearted role that's probably a revelation to U.S. audiences aware of him only as the duplicitous boss in the popular television sitcom The Drew Carey Show. While the rest of the cast is filled with British character actors hired too predictably by type, Saving Grace is a mostly effective, surprisingly warm film that would easily be suitable for children were it not for its central preoccupation with illicit substances. The script's finale disappoints, however, with a too-quick wrap-up that feels artificial, forced, and rushed. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Cat Villiers  Executive Producer 
Craig Ferguson  Screenwriter 
Nigel Cole  Director 
Brenda Blethyn  Actor 
Craig Ferguson  Actor 
Martin Clunes  Actor 
Tchéky Karyo  Actor 
Jamie Forman  Actor 
Bill Bailey  Actor 
Valerie Edmond  Actor 
Clive Merrison  Actor 
Leslie Phillips  Actor 
Diana Quick  Actor 
Phyllida Law  Actor 
Ken Campbell  Actor 

Country: UK