daphne4242
I think some of the negative reviews come from people who expected this to be another sunshine funny film romance. It is funny but not light-hearted. It's actually quite dark. There's crippling illness and death and no boyfriend at the end of it. But mixed in with that are some very funny scenes, some excellent cameo performances and some super music. I'm from South Wales and everyone from there that I know loves this film and finds it very resonant. Jonatahn Pryce's Welsh accent seemed fine, just what you hear every day in the shop. I think this film might get a better reception in Britain now that Gavin and Stacey has softened up the rest of the country for both the Welsh accent and people.
jotix100
The life of Annie Mary changes completely after the death of her mother. Annie Mary, who had a beautiful voice, suddenly stopped trying to sing opera. Her life in the small Welsh town is boring, to say the least. To make matters worse, her best friend, Bethan Bevan, is struck by cancer. Annie Mary, who is a loyal friend, wants to help her sick friend go to Disneyland.Annie Mary's father, Jack, has a bakery in the town. We see him as he makes his deliveries in a Luciano Pavarotti's mask and singing in his beautiful tenor opera arias that are much admired by the people of the area. When he suffers a stroke, Annie Mary's life goes into a tail spin. As a caretaker, Annie Mary is useless. As much as she tries to make a go at being a baker, she never makes it work. In desperation she turns to Mrs. Madoc, her father's girlfriend, to buy her out.As a way to help Bethan, Annie Mary and a few of the town's women, she decides to enter a contest in Cardiff. They have prepared to do a number of the Village People, "Y.M.C.A.", but they are horrified when they arrive at the hall where the competition is going to be held, and watch a group of men doing exactly their number, much better. The women decide to change their act into a sort of "Three Tenors" aria in which Annie Mary, wearing an inflated rubber suit, floats into the audience. Needless to say, they win, but emboldened by the turn of events in her life, she gambles all the money into a horse race and loses it.Annie Mary becomes Ogw's most hated person. What's more the trip to Disneyland is too late for Bethan, who suffers a relapse. It's at this point that Annie Mary finds her voice again and she gives her friend a rendition of Puccini's aria "O mio bambino caro" in a shaky voice that gets better as the scene changes to another location.Sara Sugarman, the writer and director of this screwball comedy was lucky in casting one of the most talented actresses working in films these days: Rachel Griffiths. Ms. Sugarman gets a tremendous performance out of Ms. Griffiths, who shows her range in a role she was born to play. Jonathan Pryce is also excellent as the distant father who can't see eye to eye with his daughter.Although sometimes the accents get a bit hard to follow, the luminous presence of Ms. Griffiths and the sure direction of Ms. Sugarman make us overlook that minor problem and enjoy the comedy.
maclark-1
I was blown away by the range of emotion and expression shown by Rachel Griffiths in the movie, Very Annie Marie. I was not particularly impressed with her acting in the HBO series, Six Feet Under, but now I realize she is unable to use her talents to the full extent that she did in Very Annie Marie. I have a new sense of respect for her. In this movie, I found her to be a brilliant actress who is absolutely captivating and her delivery and comic timing are superb. Knowing that she is a native of Australia, I was completely convinced by her portrayal of a Welsh woman. This movie reminds me of the sweet humor and warmth of the movie, Calendar Girls, in that it portrays colorful characters who are believable and not just Hollywood stereotypes. Rachel is a bright spark that brings life and a sense of joy to the movie. I would like to know if she was actually singing the aria. If not, I was completely convinced that she was. I have not previously written a review but was so impressed with Rachel's performance that I had to this time.
kirsty_chick_ere2k5
I'm not just saying it was excellent because my dad Darren Dobbs was in it its because it was a great film i really enjoyed watching it and IOWN was in it and he is one of my favourite actors he has been in loads of films i love Hornblower titanic and very Annie Mary!! I hope sum one reads this soon and gets back in touch with me i would so love 2 meet with IOWN he is one of my favorite actors encluding Chris Evans who was also in fantastic 4 with IOWN. It would be a plesure to meet with him and my dad has already met IOWN backstage of very Annie Mary.I loved ere body's acting in the film they all performed very well lots of love Kirsty xxx
