What makes it different from others?

Dreadfully Boring

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I'm fine with filmmakers adapting books to the screen and doing what they need to do to make the source material cinematic. But I'm always mystified by filmmakers who adapt a book to the screen and change so much that it's nearly a completely different story. I wonder why they wanted to adapt the book in the first place if they felt that so much of it was inadequate.This is a terrible adaptation of the wonderful Graham Greene novel, that even a dynamic performance from Maggie Smith in the title role cannot save. George Cukor directs this film like it's a relic from a different decade. Yes, the main character is stodgy and stuffy but that doesn't mean the movie has to be. And by the time the ending has rolled around, all vestiges of the source material have vanished completely, an unforgivable crime in my opinion when working with an author as great as Greene.Grade: D

This is a pretty odd movie that mixes drama with adventurous elements and yet somehow works.The movie is definitely entertaining to watch, with a good cast, some fine comedy moments and a good solid adventurous story. Nothing too big or fancy, just a decent enjoyable movie quality movie to kill some time with.The movie has a perfectly adventurous way of storytelling, meaning that lots of places around the world are being visited in short amount of time and many different characters come and go.The movie obviously had some great production values, since the movie is set all around the globe, from Paris to Istanbul and everything around it and between. The movie is also looking with some lively, deliberately over-the-top looking sets and costumes (both nominated for an Oscar with the costumes even eventually winning.). But what else was to expect from a George Cukor movie. The man who is known for director cheerful and good musical mostly in the '50's and '60's including "My Fair Lady" but also comedies, like "Born Yesterday" and well known serious drama classics as well, such as "Gaslight", "The Philadelphia Story" and for some part, before he was booted from the set, also "Gone with the Wind".He mixed all those previous styles he had worked with before in this movie. The end result is a quite unique and one of a kind movie, that works fine on the adventurous level, as well as the comical and dramatic one.The movie is well cast with Maggie Smith in an absolutely splendid role. A role that even got her an Oscar nomination. She also had some great chemistry with Alec McCowen, who is obviously the least known actor of the main cast. His role even got him a Golden Globe nomination. Abolutely great and humorously entertaining was Louis Gossett Jr. in his role. He not only shows that he is a great actor but also how well he can handle the comedy genre. His character provides the movie with the most and biggest laughs. Too bad that his career has derailed so badly the last couple of decades, ever since his Oscar winning role for "An Officer and a Gentleman", from 1982.But no, when you look at this movie you'll realize that it also is far from a perfect one. The story gets a bit too odd at times and the storytelling is just off. The movie also too quickly ends some potentially interesting or amusing plot lines and the different adventurous/comedy and drama elements don't always go together well.Nevertheless it was a movie I mostly enjoyed watching and I wouldn't mind viewing it again.A good entertaining movie, that definitely deserves to be seen.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I was disappointed in this as so much is just great.Cindy Williams is terrific as a hippy-dippy train passenger. Alec McCowan is wonderful as the bewildered strait-laced nephew who gradually allows himself to cut loose from his narrowly defined life. It was great to hear and see a much different Lou Gossett, with outrageous robes and an odd African accent that works in this. The location shooting was beautifully done, particularly in Paris.Maggie Smith's performance (and I am a fan of Maggie's) was just too loud, too dramatic, just way too over the top, so that when her sad side emerged, it came across as equally phony. Her makeup as a very much older woman is flawless and when she played her younger self, it was a much more controlled performance.I think Maggie could have used better direction here. A great story that at some time needs to be filmed again. Alec Mc Cowan's performance makes it highly watchable. He gets is just right.I gave it a 7 out of 10.

A boring bachelor meets his life-loving, eccentric aunt at her mother's funeral, who involves him to various misadventures.Glossily packaged and ambitious, but rather disappointingly misguided screen transfer of an irresistible semi-classic novel. Meticulous attention to surface style and a gorgeous acting tour-de-force from McCowen, but a fatal lack of inventive characterisation, too much empty talk, with no real passions.