Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

The Secret Laughter of Women (1998)

Director: Peter Schwabach

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Single mother and landscape gardener Nimi (Long) likes life among the close knit Nigerian community of a coastal town in southern France, but finds herself subjected to a tussle between the traditionally minded womenfolk and her fanciful 7-year-old Sammy (Roberts). While the former eye up the eligible new preacher (Bakare) as a potential husband, Sammy hatches similar ambitions for his new friend Matthew (Firth), a successful English fantasy comicbook author who summers from his 'open' modern marriage in a nearby villa. Though not short on good intentions, as a would-be romantic comedy the film's unguarded naivety doesn't pay off, and attempts to keep the drama light, sunny and sensitive often lapse into rose tinted whimsy or quixotism. It's more romantic than comic, and more rambling than romantic; and while on the whole the acting is a plus, there are times when the performers sound like they're reading from the page.

Author: NB

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

A holiday guide to movie dystopias

A holiday guide to movie dystopias

‘Going anywhere nice this summer, sir?’ To celebrate the release of Pixar’s sublime post-apocalyptic robo-romance ‘Wall-E’, Time Out offers a tour guide of the best future worlds in film

Eddie Murphy's Crimes Against Cinema

Eddie Murphy's Crimes Against Cinema

We all remember the comic highs of 'Beverly Hills Cop' and 'Bowfinger', but Eddie Murphy has been in a fair few stinkers as well. Time Out to presents a handy rundown of his ten darkest cinematic hours...

Olly Blackburn meets Nic Roeg

Olly Blackburn meets Nic Roeg

Nic Roeg is the director of ‘Performance’, ‘Don’t Look Now’ and, most recently, ‘Puffball’. Olly Blackburn is the man behind ‘Donkey Punch’, a thriller about a holiday gone wrong. We sent Olly to meet his legendary colleague

The nine rules of ’80s fantasy

The nine rules of ’80s fantasy

Unpack the VCR and fire up the soda stream as Time Out celebrates a golden age of Hollywood family filmmaking