Keeping Mum Review, by Kristy

This week I'm writing a movie review for you. Keeping Mum, an innocent-looking movie from Azure Films that stars Rowan Atkinson (of Mr. Bean fame), Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith (elsewhere known as Mrs. McGonagall), and Patrick Swayze has a lot to do with body parts. The serene and pretty opening scene soon gives way to the real tone of the story to follow: a mixture of kooky, bizarre, and cute.

A new housekeeper comes into the lives of a staid vicar and his family who will stop at nothing to make things right for them. She helps the vicar explore his sense of humor as he writes an improved convention speech, inspires the daughter to copulate with more decent guys, relieves the son from his torture at the hands of bullies, and helps the vicar's wife "get some" from an unusual source. Along the way, some characters change and grow, but the hilarity of this movie is provided by the characters that don't.

I laughed out loud many times, thanks to the powers of Atkinson and Smith but not without acknowledgment to the writers, Richard Russo and Niall Johnson. Though I had to guess at the quality of this obscure 2005 film while browsing the video store, no movie could have been more perfect for my mood two nights ago.

Keeping Mum is a strange and funny tale that doesn't try to be morally correct. It's a therapeutic view for anyone who harbors feelings of annoyance or anger that aren't socially acceptable.