Wild About Harry (2000) Poster

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6/10
Amusing, light entertainment
smithers-525 January 2003
Black comedy about a hard-drinking/smoking/womanising Irish TV chef who loses his memory when on the brink of divorce. Harry is a mix of male TV chefs from Graham Kerr to Keith Floyd and looks a hell of a lot like Patrick, the Irish Anglia TV chef.

This is a well-constructed film, funny without being hilarious, moving without being too syrupy.

Brendan Gleeson play this part so well that it's hard to imagine anyone else doing it.

Amanda Donahoe is excellent in a different role for her.

George Wendt as a TV producer is George Wendt - a delight to watch (please can we see more of him).

Nothing groundbreaking, just good entertainment.
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6/10
Fun but lightweight
paul2001sw-19 December 2006
The idea of amnesia offering you a chance to rebuild your life has been explored in films such as 'Amateur' and 'The Red Squirrel', and is also the subject of this movie. I'm not sure how realistic the medical symptoms are in any of these movies, but it makes for a nice premise, and the take here is particularly ingenious: a famous but awful man loses his memories of his entire married life just as his wife is about to (quite deservedly) divorce him. Unfortunately, although this is a sprightly movie, it's also a silly one, and most of its conceits are paper-thin. It's still fun to watch, though, in spite of its lightweight build.
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5/10
Gleeson is brilliant and overall a good plot
hiproductions6 June 2005
This was a very good film. The humor is British which takes a bit of adjusting to but Gleeson's performance was perfect. He demonstrates that he can hold down a lead part while not necessarily fitting a Hollywood mold. The overall plot was good. The Gleeson character was a total jerk and as a result, he was surrounded by people that hated him thoroughly. Through a tragic injury, he has to start all over and has a very hard time figuring out why everyone around him is such a jerk to HIM, not realizing that he was living in a world of relationships that he built (or destroyed). From there, Harry has to start all over and work through the many difficulties/consequences of his previous life. Gleeson is brilliant, I really had to root for him the whole time. If this were available on DVD I would probably buy it.
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Had potential but too many bits that don't work well and a stupid subplot
bob the moo24 January 2003
Northern Irish TV chef Harry has a history of playing around, being drunk and fighting with his wife. On the eve of his divorce hearing, Harry is beaten up at a garage but goes to work the next day. Acting increasingly disorientated and unusual he finally slips into a coma. Coming out of the coma later, Harry thinks he is 18 and can't remember anything past that. His wife doesn't tell him what a total s*** he has been and tries to form him into a better person. But when Harry discovers his recent past he is shaken and tries to carry on as normal.

When I saw this advertised I saw the great cast and wanted to see it immediately. The plot didn't sound too great – how many `kid in adult's body' things have we seen – and this one sounded like a recipe (sorry) for disaster. The opening scenes are funny, with a great joke at the expense of the sheer horror of daytime TV, but it soon turns into sentimentality that doesn't always work. The central relationship between Harry and Ruth doesn't always convince but it is OK and mostly avoids being syrupy despite being a bit sentimental.

The sub-plot about the disgraced politician is just plain silly and is clearly a very silly idea whose sole purpose is to create some sort of climax to the main romance. It simply doesn't work and just adds to the feeling that this is a film that began with an idea but wasn't fully developed and, as a result, has too many bits that simply don't work very well.

The great cast is mostly wasted. Gleeson is on good form and is an enjoyable character in the lead. Donohoe is also good and her accent is pretty good despite slipping occasionally. Dunbar is a good actor but has little to do here in a small role. Nesbit is a great actor from my hometown of Coleraine. Sadly here he plays the absurd disgraced politician who is ruined by Harry on live TV – it's a silly role and the only thing that it does for Nesbit's career is that it shows he'll do any old tat! `Cheer's' Wendt is funny in a small role as Harry's producer and is typical of a well known and talented cast.

It's a shame that they are pretty much wasted in a daffy plot that mixes a good idea with some touches that simply don't work. At heart this is a romance with potential but it has too many bits that are half baked although much of the central romance is enjoyably sweet without being overly sickly sweet.
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7/10
Witty original and very funny
petawebken15 November 2000
I saw this movie at the London Film Festival and enjoyed it very much. It is a very witty and funny film,sometimes hilariously so.

It is also a subtle film which works on more than one level. It can be viewed as a romantic comedy.or could be seen as a metaphor for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland after 25 years of troubles.

The film has encouraged me to buy some of Colin Batemans books.
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6/10
Amnesia
jotix1009 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
An Irish television chef with a great following, is going through a divorce. Harry McKee, married to Ruth for twenty five years, has found that in his celebrity status he forgot his good intentions for a good marriage and a nice family. Ruth feels betrayed by Harry's drinking and his philandering. His own children do not care for him; all they want is a quick settlement so he can be out of their lives.

One night Harry, who has run out of cigarettes, goes to a convenience store and gets into a confrontation with a few rough guys. He gets kicked in the head, something that produces an injury that lands him in hospital. He falls into a coma from which he eventually wakes from. The only problem is he cannot remember much about his life with Ruth. Harry has to relearn to live with his condition, even though the divorce is still going on in the courts. Will he be able to reconcile himself with his past and mend his ways? If he wants to keep Ruth, he will do anything because he finally understands she and his family matter a lot to him.

An affable comedy directed by Declan Lowney and based on the screenplay by Colin Bateman. The strong cast assembled for the film was an excuse for watching the film when it showed on television recently. The presence of Brendan Gleeson and Amanda Donohue as Harry and Ruth, worked well in this comedy. Unfortunately, the subplot involving James Nesbitt, an otherwise notable Irish actor, does not make much sense, and in a way, it is distracting.
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4/10
Not too wild about this one
bbbl676 May 2003
I don't know about this one, I hate to be down about this film: the idea of the film was interesting, and the acting was passable. Where it fell down was in the storyline, it just felt dull. Amanda Donohoe just felt too bland as a suffering housewife, dealing with her husband's infidelities; I'm used to her playing lesbians and snakewomen and stuff like that. I can't even imagine a fat lard like Harry would be cheating on a hotwife like Ruth (Donohoe); but I suppose if we could accept Michael Douglas cheating on hotwife Anne Archer with Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, then we can accept this. I just wasn't convinced by the characters in this movie.
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9/10
A real pleasure !!
pbarnhill23 May 2002
What a pleasure this was. A well written, well crafted piece of black comedy which demonstrates the fact that a fine story and emotive acting can make up for a lack of big budget sets and effects. Filmed on location (with good effect) in Northern Ireland, 'Wild About Harry' tells the tale of Harry McKee, an aging lothario who combines his job as a TV chef with a life of drunken parties and seducing his female fans. As you would imagine, this does not bode well for his marriage to long suffering wife Ruth, who has set divorce proceedings in motion. Before the hearing though, Harry gets attacked by thugs and ends up in a coma.

When he awakes, he has 'lost' 25 years of memory and thinks he is an 18 year old, clean living, boy with his whole life ahead of him. What follows is a keenly observed story of how life can sometimes give you a second chance to repair any mistakes you've made. 'Wild About Harry' is based on a book by superb local author Colin Bateman, and anyone who has read any of his work will know that there are plenty of colourful characters, situations and lines to enjoy. We need more films like this to refresh the soul from the usual Hollywood pap !
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10/10
A Romantic Comedy in every good sense of the word!
chonings31 October 2000
This movie is great! Great humour, terrific acting, lovely Irish accents, relaxing, romantic, sexy... What else do you want? It made me feel happy.
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9/10
I was
rocketship170129 July 2005
A thoroughly enjoyable movie. OK so it was never going to win any Oscars. But it was refreshing to see a movie set in Northern Ireland which wasn't one of those American garbage productions about their romanticised view of "The Troubles". It showed normal life (within the context of the story) does happen in NI. Much more entertaining than an hour of midweek soaps. Good cast, good laughs and a happy, feel good ending. Despite the occasionally wavering accents there were fine performances from Brendan Gleeson and Amanda Donohoe. Also another fine turn from James Nesbitt and Adrian Dunbar, particularly the latter's concern for his sexual preference possibly being made public in very conservative NI. Worth a watch of an evening. Maybe with a pizza and some beers.
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A gem of a movie
noelwilde12 December 2003
This is a wonderful film, beautifully, filmed, acted and directed. Just buy it, and you will have a film that you can watch time and time again. A story mixing comedy, tragedy, and insight, not letting each take anything away from the other. One of the best films I have seen in a long time.
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