30 Second Bottom Line: Three longtime female friends, now in their 40's, get together weekly to commiserate and select which of them is the saddest of the week. One disrupts the misery by falling in love with a 25-year-old hunk and is blissfully happy until the other two destroy that relationship.

Story Line: In a cozy rural English village live three miserable 40-something women who get together weekly to smoke about a pack of cigarettes a piece, drink lots of booze and commiserate about the lack of romance and love in their pathetic lives. Whoever has the most pathetic story gets to win a prize-a box of caramels.

We first meet Kate (Andie MacDowell), the headmistress of a private girls' school, as she is reprimanding a student for smoking cigarettes. Before the girl can barely escape Kate's office, the headmistress, all too predictably, lights up from the girl's confiscated pack. Soon Kate rushes off to a funeral, which she had forgotten, where she falls head over heels into hearty lust for the substitute organist, a 25-year-old former student of hers. After being formally introduced by the Vicar, who has held a torch for Kate for years, the headmistress and her young amour disappear off behind a tombstone to consummate their passion, with the mourners just several yards away giving their final good-byes. American Pie meets Mrs. Robinson.

At the girls' next session, Kate can't hide her tryst and giddily divulges her escapade, shocking her cohorts. Both gals are strongly judgmental, but Molly (Anna Chancellor), the gynecologist, seems more mental than even judgmental about Kate's affair. As Kate spends more time with the oh-so-handsome and sexy Jed (Kenny Doughty), Molly with Janine (Imelda Staunton) by her side, take on a mission to destroy the relationship-in a particularly ineffective and horrifying way. Ultimately Jed ends up dying as one disaster leads to another. Kate immediately decides to marry the vicar, but now her two "friends" decide that is all wrong for Kate and they stop the ceremony in its final moment. Though they have behaved horribly, Kate ultimately forgives them and they resume their weekly sessions, now with Kate's new addition-a baby. She in fact was pregnant with Jed's baby before he died.

Tell Me More About It: Being a single woman in my 40's, this film was probably targeted to me, but made me more annoyed than charmed. First, these women are portrayed as old and dowdy-justifiably miserable. Other than Kate, Molly and Janine have barely an ounce of gentleness or kindness in their dried up old souls. Secondly, they all dress like nuns, except Kate's ankle length skirts have slits that extend to about six inches below her waist. Thirdly, together they must smoke three hundred cigarettes during the movie, and finally, the viciousness of Molly and Janine's actions to destroy Kate's relationship is simply unforgivable.

The illogical situations inundate us. Kate decides to have a dinner party to introduce her new lover, but as the guests begin to arrive he is answering the door with only skimpy swimsuit trunks on. Were Kate and he swimming, or is he just trying to show off, or is the director just trying to show him off? Then, after he puts some clothes on, he eats like a pig and embarrasses her further. Can't a handsome 25-year-old have manners? Then, Kate decides she will marry him but within a week after his death, Kate decides to marry the vicar. Would a vicar agree to immediately marry a woman whose fiancé just died? Wouldn't they wait a month or two? Kate's lucky though because her meddlesome friends have not had enough of running her life and they disrupt the marriage at the very final moment to "save" her. Given that their efforts to save her from marrying Jed had just ended in such extreme disaster, one would think they'd let her make her own decisions regarding her love life. And she ends up staying friends with them!

The one star for this movie is for the onscreen beauty and talent of Andie MacDowell and Kenny Doughty. It's unfortunate that they, along with the rest of the talented cast, didn't have a better script. I went to see the film with great expectations, but left feeling annoyed and disappointed. There are so few movies capturing the joys and challenges of friendships among women-this had a chance at it with a great cast and unfortunately missed its mark.

Andie MacDowell: Harrison's Flowers	Anna Chancellor: Heart
Imelda Staunton: Shakespeare In Love	Kenny Doughty: All Forgotten
Bill Paterson: Hilary and Jackie	Josh Cole: Strumpet
Director John McKay: Wet and Dry

Kate: Andie MacDowell	Molly: Anna Chancellor
Janine: Imelda Staunton	Jed: Kenny Doughty
Rev. Gerald Marsden: Bill Paterson	PC Blake: Josh Cole
Written and Directed by: John McKay