My wife saw this movie was scheduled to air, uncut, on the MGM channel and recorded it for me, knowing that I'm a big Monty Python and Michael Palin fan. In fact, I'm such a Python fan that I was surprised to find a film starring Palin and Connie Booth (and featuring Simon Jones and Charles McKeown) that I'd somehow never heard of. I'm guessing this movie wasn't very well promoted in the U.S. Which is not surprising, as it deals with the very British subject of life at Oxford university in the nineteenth century and features dramatic roles from actors known on this side of the pond strictly for their comedy.
Palin plays Mr. Ashby, a teacher at Oxford who has devoted his entire life to his work and is in line to be voted the next president of the college when the elderly current president meets his end. Despite his protests, Ashby's colleagues insist that he take a vacation. While hiking in the Alps, he meets a single woman his own age (Booth) and her adopted daughter. For reasons that are never explained both women fall instantly and deeply in love with him. Seems pretty unlikely, but there wouldn't be a film without it (and, apparently, this is all based on a true story).
Any hint of a romantic relationship would ruin Ashby's chances at the college presidency (fellows at the college are expected to remain celibate), so when the women follow him back to Oxford it becomes a scandal. Naturally Ashby's chief rival for the presidency, Oliver Syme, does everything he can to add fuel to the flames. Somehow, no one seems to notice that Syme himself is a womanizer.
In the end, Ashby has to decide whether to keep trying to climb the career ladder at the college or leave and start a new life with one of the two women.
So this obviously isn't a Pythonesque comedy - other than a few wry smiles it had hardly any humor at all. But the scenery is beautiful (especially the scenes in the Alps) and the atmosphere and acting are well done. The pace is a bit slow, but it's a period drama so that's to be expected. In the end I enjoyed the movie, even though it wasn't at all what I thought it would be.
Palin plays Mr. Ashby, a teacher at Oxford who has devoted his entire life to his work and is in line to be voted the next president of the college when the elderly current president meets his end. Despite his protests, Ashby's colleagues insist that he take a vacation. While hiking in the Alps, he meets a single woman his own age (Booth) and her adopted daughter. For reasons that are never explained both women fall instantly and deeply in love with him. Seems pretty unlikely, but there wouldn't be a film without it (and, apparently, this is all based on a true story).
Any hint of a romantic relationship would ruin Ashby's chances at the college presidency (fellows at the college are expected to remain celibate), so when the women follow him back to Oxford it becomes a scandal. Naturally Ashby's chief rival for the presidency, Oliver Syme, does everything he can to add fuel to the flames. Somehow, no one seems to notice that Syme himself is a womanizer.
In the end, Ashby has to decide whether to keep trying to climb the career ladder at the college or leave and start a new life with one of the two women.
So this obviously isn't a Pythonesque comedy - other than a few wry smiles it had hardly any humor at all. But the scenery is beautiful (especially the scenes in the Alps) and the atmosphere and acting are well done. The pace is a bit slow, but it's a period drama so that's to be expected. In the end I enjoyed the movie, even though it wasn't at all what I thought it would be.