Its final scene is even set on the same riverside walk on the South Bank where Hugh Grant wooed Andie MacDowell with inappropriate chitchat about David Cassidy and the Partridge Family.
The difference is the characters are older, the pace slower, the results ultimately more touching.
The best period of the film is its opening half-hour or so where British writer and director Joel Hopkins sets the scene for the eventual romance in a wonderfully patient way.
Dustin Hoffman plays a divorced composer of TV ad jingles over from the States for his daughter's wedding in London.
Emma Thompson is the lonely wallflower, held back by her devotion to the "ultimate contraceptive", her craggy old mum.
Though their pairing is a minor mismatch, the beauty of the film is it refusal to press any of the obvious buttons, leaving Hoffman and Thompson free to give performances of real charm and genuine subtlety.
Despite being a class act, it also means Last Chance Harvey lacks the oomph and zing of Four Weddings and a Funeral, but, as the director himself might have said, you can't have everything.
Graham Chalmers



Showing from today, Friday, June 12, 2009

Harrogate Odeon


Last Chance Harvey (12a)
(1h 58m)
wheelchair access
Fri & Mon -Thu: 15:40, 18:00, 20:40. Sat-Sun: 13:30, 15:40, 18:00, 20:40.
See review.

The Hangover (15)
(1h 40m)
wheelchair access and audio description - plus subtitled shows Sun & Tue only at 18:15.
Fri & Mon-Thu: 15:45, 18:15, 20:45. Sat-Sun: 13.20, 15.45, 18.15, 20.45.

Directors Chair
Vicky Christina Barcelona (12a)
(1h 51m)
Tue: 20:20.
Woody Allen's 'return to form' is, by his own, once-lofty standards, merely an enjoyable romp featuring Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson in a sort of menage a quatre.

Senior Screen
Gran Torino (15)
(2h 06m)
wheelchair access
Tue: 10:30.
Oscar-nominated modern directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as an ageing war vet who takes on the hoodlums ruining his rundown neighbourhood.

Terminator Salvation (12a)
(2h 20m)
Fri & Mon-Thu: 14:45, 17:30, 20:15. Sat-Sun: 12:00, 14:45, 17:30, 20:15.

Night at the Museum 2 (PG)
(2h 10m)
Fri & Mon & Wed-Thu: 14:20, 17:20, 20:20. Sat-Sun: 11.20, 14:20, 17:20, 20:20. Tue:14:20, 17:20.
The sequel to this all-star family, comedy vehicle for Ben Stiller is proving remarkably popular with sold-out signs at the Harrogate Odeon last Sunday.

Angels & Demons (12a)
(2h 43m)
wheelchair access
Fri-Thu: 14:00, 17:00, 20:05.

Hannah Montana: The Movie (U)
(1h 57m)
wheelchair access
Sat-Sun: 11:20.

ODEON KIDS
Wall-e (U)
(1h 58m)
wheelchair access
Sat-Sun: 11:00.

NEWBIES
Last Chance Harvey (12a)
(1h 48m)
Tue: 10:45.

NEWBIES
Terminator Salvation (12a)
(2h 05m)
Tue: 10:40.

Wetherby Film Theatre

Cheri 15)
(1h 32m)
Showing daily at 19:30.
Award-winning British director Stephen Fears' latest movie is a lush period romance starring Michelle Pfeiffer as an ageing courtesan who falls for an attractive but idle 19-year-old playboy in early 20th century Paris.

The Ritz Cinema, Thirsk

Is Anybody There? (12a)
(1hr 34m)
Showing daily at 19:30 plus matinee Wednesday only at 14:30.
Bitter-sweet British comedy starring Michael Caine, an ex-magician whose retirement by the seaside is sparked into life by his friendship with the young son of his home owners (played by Bill Milner of Son of Rambow).