Rated PG-13, 115 minutes
"The Grand Seduction" is unoriginal but charming, offbeat comedy
If the enjoyable Canadian comedy "The Grand Seduction" seems familiar, it is. It's a remake of the 2003 French comedy "La Grande Seduction" but it's also calculated, but in such a calculated way you may not mind. A small fishing village must procure a local doctor to secure a lucrative business contract. When unlikely candidate and big city doctor Paul Lewis (Taylor Kitsch) lands in their lap for a trial residence, the townsfolk rally together to charm him into staying. As the doctor's time in the village winds to a close, acting mayor Murray French (Brendan Gleeson) has no choice but to pull out all the stops and begin The Grand Seduction. Directed by Don McKellar ("The Red Violin"), The pleasant "The Grand Seduction" is silly and predictable but carried by a charming cast, with a memorable, heartwarming turn from the very likable Gleeson, who should be given more leads. Though a remake of the aforementioned French movie, it bears striking resemblance to an equally charming 1983 British film "Local Hero" that garnered some acclaim for Oscar-winner Burt Lancaster in his final years of making movies. The affable Kitsch is a good pairing for Glesson, though both are upstaged by veteran Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent as one of the cranky townspeople, and it comes as no surprise that Pinsent won a Supporting Actor Award from the Canadian Screen Awards earlier this year. "The Grand Seduction" meanders a bit in its second act and you wonder how some could be so stupid to fall for something like this, but it's all in good fun. Worth a look for Gleeson and the hilarious Pinsent.
Wes's Grade: B-
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