Jamie passion and passionfruit!

Bonneville

 

Another rather uncreative effort by someone who had the bright idea of a road trip featuring three middle-aged women and the ashes of the husband of one of them.  Supposedly they are Mormon too!  An excuse to see the salt flats of Utah, Las Vegas, etc, the whole story falls quickly flat and it is an effort to see it to the end.  Nothing novel here at all but you get to see Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates (who at least has fun) and Joan Allen.

 

**

 

El Brindis

 

Partly an excuse for a travelogue in Valparaiso, partly a look at the Jewish community there, it makes Daniel Burman look like a genius.  Only Argentine Pepe Soriano lifts this leaden, unimaginative and not exactly coherent story of lost contacts between Mexican jewesses and frustrated rabbis.

 

**

 

Then she found me

 

Happily, this directing debut by Helen Hunt has plenty to offer.  The story is unusual enough.  Hunt is a school teacher whose mother dies and then she discovers that her birth mother, a TV presenter is looking for her.  The mother is none other than Bette Midler (well restrained).  Add in weird ex-husband Matthew Broderick and new beau Colin Firth who has his own manias and you have a less than predictable and smart comedy about the messiness of life.

 

***