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The Accidental Husband (2008)

Director: Griffin Dunne

2

Time Out rating

Average user rating
21 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Dispenser of stern advice on her NYC radio phone-in, broadcaster Uma Thurman’s about to wed her publisher fiancé (Colin Firth), only to discover the registry office database already has her married to some guy in Brooklyn. That’s fireman Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who’s fuming after the radio host talked his fiancée into calling off their nuptials and, with help from a techy whizzkid, has taken his revenge.

A tussle over the annulment sets in motion the familiar rom-com tropes of choosing between seemingly opposite suitors and initial antipathy sparking made-for-each-other passion. Uma works hard to convince us she’s funny, and though the effort’s obvious, we’re rooting for her – if only her choices made any sense.

Dean Morgan’s cheeky-chappy act is grating indeed, while his tight-lipped rival’s so utterly stolidly Firthian we could easily be watching his Madame Tussaud’s mannequin. Painless anodyne fare, though genuine laughs are few, apart from comfort-eating Firth’s illicit ‘naughty choccy’.

Author: Trevor Johnston 2008-02-26 12:01:31

Time Out Film Guide


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User reviews of this film

  • nikita said...
    Posted on Feb 25 2009 02:49 im among the few who liked this flick. of course it had its flaws but im an Uma Thurman fan and i think she is always a pleasure to watch. the plot is shaky and some of the things were unnecessary but its neither a must watch nor is it a complete waste of time.
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  • usman khawaja said...
    Posted on Apr 19 2008 19:11 advertising matrimony -indian way
    its not accidental that mr ,morgan happens to live in this romcom set in manhattan and queens above an indian takeaway called samosa palace ,amongst an indian family who behave even more like a bollywood massala family then in present day bw movies ,as we get to see miss thurman doing a somewhat funny pantomime to a few bollywood songs ,
    but basically mr morgan gets to wear an indian silk salwar kameez for an indian bar mitzvah ,and here lies the culprit who in the form of an indian computer geek,arranges a computer wedding between a famous radio show love doctor and a NYC firefighter ,this is a ridiculous premise as uma wants to marry a real geek,a british nerd colin firth ,
    who is getting to be the most irritating actor since last seen in last legion,with his accentuated english accent that is like sandpaper grating and his total inability to emulate hugh grant,
    why would uma want this man if he was the last man alive is a riddle ,
    but so is this movies silly script with some good jokes and a really good chemistry between uma and morgan plus a squandered lost cameo by isabella rosselini as a german tourist who seems to be the truly accidental tourist in big apple ,
    but all is not lost as uma has some good lines and is better then in the last movie, she made in NYC ,SUPERTRASH SUPERGIRLFRIEND,this is definitely an improvement on that ,but she needs to change her agent nevertheless as she will end up playing secondary roles like colin [st.trinians and this ], soon if she continues like this ,
    i will give this 2.5 stars and it is watchable once for uma and morgan ,and some jokes which remind me of grant-hepburn goldies set in new york,but other then that see it at your own peril ,
    but maybe its girl friendly and i am a guy ,so am not sure but it seems to want to please the indians ,firefifgters and the patisserie shop keepers , plus try to engage the modern audience which is rather a difficult task to accomplish ,but there are some eye pleasing views of new york,definitely better then DEFINITELY ,MAYBE ,BUT THAT IS NO compliment ,is it
    - jbz7879
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  • sasha said...
    Posted on Mar 27 2008 16:41 i think this was a really good film have recommened friends to watch it. it's one for the dvd collection!! go see it......
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  • Sally said...
    Posted on Mar 26 2008 20:35 Heard this was rubbish and didn't want to see it, but my daughter did. Glad I did - everyone seems to hate it, but I actually enjoyed it. Might have just been feeling hormonal that day, but thought it was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. Don't expect the unexpected - it's a typical rom-com. That's it!
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  • Francesca said...
    Posted on Mar 25 2008 18:32 im thinking about seeing it but has been loads of bad reviews. It has put me off.
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  • sylvia said...
    Posted on Mar 24 2008 12:52 I found this to be light hearted entertainment. This is not a 'must see' film but kept me interested.
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  • CItygal said...
    Posted on Mar 21 2008 23:27 Worst film I have ever seen, first time ever left the cinema, Bad bad bad acting, and a really really unfunny script
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  • Phoebe. said...
    Posted on Mar 19 2008 19:56 It was okay not that gd.Hehe,.
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  • Heather said...
    Posted on Mar 19 2008 16:01 This was one of the worst rom-coms I have ever seen. Every moment was predicatable and was incredibly boring. A Waste of time and money going to see it.
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  • stenic said...
    Posted on Mar 17 2008 14:34 we havent seen this yet but we are rather distressed at the sight of some of people's comments, it makes others that wanted to watch this film feel that it is not worth it; they may have enjoyed it if some of you didnt write such bad reviews! However we will still go and see this film as we are not partial to reading such comments and not going to see it because some people say its a load of rubbish! so once we have seen it we will get back to you all!!!
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  • iain said...
    Posted on Mar 16 2008 22:01 i have just come back from seeing this film and i dont know why i bothered. right from the outset i got the feeling that it was going to be a painful watch. i dont know how this can be labeled a comedy - there is none. the acting is dreadful and the storyline extremely weak...dont waste your time going to see this rubbish
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  • Amy (: said...
    Posted on Mar 12 2008 22:34 when i saw this film adevrtised i thought it was a must watch .. but when i watched it i felt like i 'must leave' .. it was nothing ike i expected and was pretty poor. colin being one of my favourite actors, made me think this would be good.. i was wrong. would not recommend =[
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  • Jal said...
    Posted on Mar 12 2008 12:49 Went to watch movie with a girlfriend of mine. We both thought the film was unbelievably lousy. Uma Thurman should remain in Quitin Tarantino films and she should stay away from Romantic films. Another poor attempt for her in this film. And as for Jeffrey Dean Morgan...does this guys accent suck or what? In P.S. I love you, his Irish accent was beyond dreadful. In this movie he attempts an American accent which is just about bearable.
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  • Nat said...
    Posted on Mar 09 2008 18:28 I watched it today. I thought it wasnt that good really... i only understood the beginning just before it started so... Cyah x
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  • Neil said...
    Posted on Mar 08 2008 20:33 what a load of trash!!! the story line was predictable and totally unbelieveable, there was no life in the whole film, the acting was poor, never felt like they were actually in love, worst movie i've seen for a long time.
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Cast & crew

Director: Griffin Dunne

Cast: Uma Thurman, Colin Firth, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sam Shepard, Isabella Rossellini full cast

Rated: 12

Duration: 91 mins

UK Release: Feb 29 2008




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