I bought this movie in a pack of four Hugh Grant movies. I was really excited to watch it since I had never seen it. Let me tell you that I have never been more disappointed in my life from a movie with Hugh Grant. The movie doesn't have a point at all, and the revelations that the characters have are not clear at all. So you are left asking yourself is he really her dad or not or is that just something they want you to think, and is Hugh Grant supposed to be gay in this film? I don't know maybe I am not catching on to something that most viewers are, but I didn't like this movie at all. I have seen that there is a book, and I have thought about reading it. But the movie has turned me off from it thus far.

I went into this movie expecting a comedy, and, where I may have chuckled a few times, it wasn't a very funny movie. The acting was good, and, as always, Alan Rickman shines in the role of P.L. O'Hara (and he NEEDS to do Hook in a production of Peter Pan!) I just felt ripped off by this movie. I watched the whole thing waiting for Meredith Baxter (Hugh Grant) to get some kind of come-uppance and it never happened.This movie left me sad and very disillusioned about the human race in general.I can't recommend this film to anyone, and I don't know how they ended up classifying it as anything but a dark, tragic drama.

"An Awfully Big Adventure" is a story of a naive 16 year old girl, wonderfully played by Georgiana Cates, and her interaction with the members of a bottom-of-the-line stock company in 1947 Liverpool. The Liverpool actors are lead by an incredibly nasty, chain-smoking homosexual director, played by Hugh Grant in what may have been the best performance of his career. Their star, "Perhaps the best Captain Hook ever," is played by Alan Rickman in yet another stellar performance. This is a consistently entertaining but very, very cynical coming of age story. Thus, it may not be for all tastes. Nevertheless, I recommended it highly, 8 out of 10.

I have sat through several bad movies, most of which to be fair had awful performances and dire plot, however this film contrives to be one of the most ghastly experiences of my life.Picture the scene - one goes to the cinema to watch some harmless piece of British costume drama and one is confronted by an eternity watching awful people perform awful acts on themselves and each other.I appreciate that the performances were actually good. I like Alan Rickman as much as the next person and even Hugh Grant is good in the film (and against type too; well done Hugh!), but still nothing - no review - no warning can prepare you for the horror of sitting through thisI once, near the end of the film (and thinking 'Well, maybe I just don't get it') turned to see the audience reaction - they appeared to be having as much fun as I was - both of them!Even dear old Prunella puts in an appearance (then again, there are always the supermarket ads, but the less said the better I feel) and is excellent.As a warning, I cannot recommend that you see this film - I aged 10 years in the first hour alone (how many hours did it take? I know not, but many by my physical reaction) Your time will be better spent digging that heavy clay in the north bed of your garden, or cutting your toenails, or cutting someone else's toenails or indeed watching the proverbial grass grow and paint dry.Oh, did I mention it was depressing too?Since writing this, a friend bought me, knowing how much I enjoyed the film, the Beryl Bainbridge novel. The book is fantastic and almost...almost makes me want to see the film again to see how they managed to turn a great piece of writing into an utter dirge.