Virtual Venice homepage
MORE
LIT & LOVIN' IT
pagesThe Litness Credo
JJ's Fashion Page
JJ Live with Munchie Mike on Master Musicians of Jajouka
JJ Live with Freeda Budd on why Prohibition is Un-American
JJ Live with Stokely C. Green on the Willie Nelson Thing
Pixiedust's Library of LITerary Classics: Acapulco Gold
Pixiedust's Library of LITerary Classics: Schizophrenic Scribblings
Pixiedust's Library:
Cana RevisitedJJ's Day in the Sun: Photo Shoot at Venice Beach
JJ's Heroes: Harry Hermon
JJ's Heroes: Craig Ferguson
Lit Cinema: Emperor of Hemp
Pixiedust's Creativity Quotes 1
Jamama's Political Quotes
Jamama's Art Collection
Ace Backwords on Pot
Ace Backwords on Drugs
Ace Backwords on Acid
Saving Grace (2000)Set in England, this film stars Craig Ferguson as Matthew, caretaker of a lovely country house whose owner, Grace, is going to lose the property because her husband died leaving a mountain of debt. His smoking buddy is the local doctor, and in one scene they're sharing their last joint. "It's going to be a long, cold winter." Of course, they live in a village of staunch individualists with a "local tradition of complete and utter contempt for the law."
Matthew hopes Grace will grow some pot in her greenhouse, and presents the case to her as a poor sick plant needing help from her green thumb. At night they go to retrieve one of his plants from behind the vicarage, where a few poor little straggley babies are barely surviving in a hidden place. Before too long, they rescue the rest of his malnourished plants, and thanks to Grace's advanced gardening skill, the greenhouse is soon full of a flourishing crop. Even though the furniture has been sold and things look grim, she hopes to make a big sale and pay off the bank.
Of course the whole village knows what they're up to, and that's where a lot of the funniness comes from. I love it that Matthew's girlfriend is so far from a sexual stereotype - she's a fisherperson, totally capable, competent, and non-glamorous. There's a sad subplot where she doesn't want to tell him she's pregnant, because he's so darned feckless and irresponsible.
The growers need to find one very rich buyer to take the harvest off their hands, but when Grace finds out about the expected baby, she doesn't want to see Matthew get in trouble. So she goes to London and mingles with the denizens of the Portobello Road and similar haunts, asking for an introduction to a major dealer, with no luck. It doesn't help that she's dressed like the Queen. Her dead husband's mistress helps out, loaning her an outfit with more street cred, and providing a connection to a smalltime dealer who knows a bigger guy.
That's when things really get interesting and I won't say any more except, if you don't adore this movie, I'll just have to get out of the movie-recommending business altogether. What a great scene, when Matthew gets Grace stoned for the first time. Two hits, and she cracks up laughing. It's also lovely when the smalltime dealer tries out Grace's product and his face registers about a dozen stages of rush.
There's tacit commentary on the drug problem in other aspects. Upset, Grace rummages about in a drawer to find a pack of cigarettes that has been there for who knows how long. In a society where tobacco is legal, outlawing marijuana is insane. The camera lovingly dwells on scenes in the local pub. The contrast between the easy camaraderie people can enjoy with their legal substance, and the surreptitious behavior called for when they want to enjoy the other drug of choice, is very significant. This movie gets a lot of messages across without hitting you over the head with them. The characters are lovely, and the humor is fabulous.
JJ the fanciful joint is copyrighted intellectual property of Medicine Bow Gallery © 2006
Lit & Lovin' it! is a trademark of Medicine Bow Gallery - All Rights Reserved
Munchie Mike drawing: Dr. Agon
Related:
Saving Grace
Craig Ferguson's Dad
Craig Ferguson and All That
Craig Ferguson Passed the Litness Test