THE GIRL IN THE CAFE

THE GIRL IN THE CAFE

I'm not sure where I saw the HBO movie, "The Girl in the Cafe" recommended, but I ordered it from Blockbuster on my one movie at a time program and watched it last night. I couldn't remember what it was about, and reading the description on the jacket of the DVD didn't help any, but I was game to see if I would like it or not.

The movie starts out in England -- London, I presume -- and features Bill Nighy as rather high-up civil servant Lawrence. Nighy is one of those people who I know I have seen in movies before but more as a character actor than the lead. His Lawrence is rather shy and, maybe partly as a result of that but also due to his devotion to his work, a confirmed bachelor.

He meets a much younger woman, Gina, played by Kelly MacDonald, in a cafe, and he dates her briefly before inviting her to accompany him to the 2005 G8 Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland. Lawrence has been telling her what the G8 Summit will entail, especially the Millenium Development Goals to eliminate poverty and AIDS, and when there, her outspokenness about them with world leaders, especially Lawrence's boss and the British Prime Minister, get both of them into a lot of trouble. The ending, however, was quite gratifying and brought tears to my eyes.

I did a little research after reading more about the movie in the Blockbuster description. I discovered that the 2005 G8 Summit was held in July of 2005, while this movie aired on HBO on June 25, 2005. Very interesting timing. Also, the U.K. hosted the Summit.

I have a little trouble understanding English accents and I didn't check to see if this film was close-captioned, but I did get most of what was happening. If you have a chance to rent it, I would recommend that you do so. I don't see a rating listed but I would call it PG13 as there is one scene of partial nudity and a couple of bad words. It did win the Emmy in 2006 for Best Made for Television Movie.

*****

The following joke comes from Ralph Milton's Christian E-zine, "Rumors", out of last week's June 15, 2008 edition.

"Bottom of the Barrel – Since we are now in the time of year when clergy and congregations begin to play musical pulpits, I thought this hoary old clunker might be useful.

The all-male pick-a-preacher committee had the job of deciding if the latest applicant had what it takes to be their minister. They didn’t quite know how to proceed, because this candidate was a woman.
“Let’s take her fishing,” suggested one of the committee members.
Out they went, early in the morning, the five men and the minister. Soon they were busy casting for trout, when the line of one of the men got snagged on a floating log. His tugging wouldn’t dislodge it.
So the lady minister stepped out of the boat, walked across the surface of the water, unhooked the snag, and walked back into the boat.
“Hmmmph” muttered one of the men. “Just like a woman. Can’t swim!”

Love it!

*****

I think it's time I thanked my friend Lynne again for the Ziggy in this entry and all the other ones that I have posted.

I really like the Maxine, too! There is more than a germ of truth to it! LOL!