February 16, 1995

Solitaire For 2

Evie Arup

Here’s another British romantic comedy hoping to strike a chord somewhere, (preferably America) and bring the punters flooding in as they did for Four Weddings and a funeral.

But from the outset it’s obvious that this is not to be the case, although in no way can the lead actors Mark Frankel and Amanda Pays be held responsible for the movie’s shortcomings for they are both fine young actors and deserve a break. In fact, has they replaced Hugh Grant and Andie McDowell in the aforementioned Four Weddings, I’m convinced the film would have done just as well.

The jokes in Solitaire For 2 must have looked a lot funnier on the page – on screen they fall flat, which is surprising because the film was scripted by Sinyor himself and he was responsible for the hugely funny Lean The Pig Farmer.

Mark Frankel (he was also in The Pig Farmer) plays smooth, womanising yuppie management consultant Daniel Becker, who runs courses on body language and how to use it effectively. He’s the kind of guy who spends much of his time perfecting his body language technique in front of a full length mirror.

Amanda Pays is the mindreading (she’s blessed with the gift of ESP) paleontologist Katie Burrell.

Predictably he falls for her in a big way, and equally predictably, she gives him the bum’s rush because she can read what’s going on in his filthy little mind. But you know they’re going to get together anyway despite the size of their respective egos.

Verdict? If you must see it, wait for the video.