A disastrous trip to London proves to have a silver lining for a middle-aged American jingle writer in this romantic slice-of-life drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Harvey (Hoffman) is about to lose his unfulfilling dead-end job writing jingles when he boards a plane to attend his daughter's wedding in London. He hasn't turned out a memorable tune in some time, and should Harvey fail to come up with something catchy during his trip overseas, he knows that his boss (Richard Schiff) is ready and willing to let him go. Upon arriving in London, Harvey is devastated to learn that his daughter (Liane Balaban) has opted to have her stepfather (James Brolin) walk her down the aisle instead of him. And things are about to get worse, too. Harvey realizes that he won't be able to suppress his sadness through the whole reception, and makes a quick getaway in hopes of catching a plane back home. Perhaps if he can attend an important meeting on Monday morning, his boss will have some sympathy and grant him a momentary reprieve. No such luck, however, because when Harvey misses the flight and calls his boss to explain, he is fired over the phone. Later, at the airport bar, Harvey is drowning his sorrows when he strikes up a conversation with no-nonsense Office of National Statistics employee Kate (Thompson). Kate doesn't have much of a social life; most of her time outside of work is spent suffocating under the love of her smothering mother (Eileen Atkins). She's just gotten through a humiliating string of blind dates, and something about Harvey's situation and demeanor strikes a sympathetic chord in the lonely civil servant. Likewise, Kate's intelligence and compassion prove unexpectedly invigorating to Harvey. Both Harvey and Kate had always assumed that love had passed them by -- could this middle-aged romance be the glimmer of a new beginning? Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Genre: Drama
- Category Romantic Drama, Slice of Life
- Theme: Wedding Bells, Unlikely Friendships, Serendipity, Fired or Laid-Off, Fathers and Daughters, Estrangement, Down on Their Luck, Americans Abroad
- Run Time: 01 hr 33 min
- Language: Spanish, English
- Subtitle Language: English, Spanish
- Picture Format: widescreen, pan_and_scan
- Format: DVD
- Lead Actor: James Brolin, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Kathy Baker, Eileen Atkins
- Supporting Actor: Timothy Howar, Richard Schiff, Liane Balaban, Charlotte Lucas, Tim Ahern, Alex Avery, Angela Griffin, Kate Harper, Jamie Sives, Michael Landes, Adam James, Patrick Baladi, Daniel Lapaine, Jeremy Sheffield, Wendy Mae Brown, Bronagh Gallagher
- Director: Joel Hopkins
awards
- Nominations: Golden Globe Awards (2)
- Nominee: Golden Globe Awards, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, 2008, Dustin Hoffman
- Nominee: Golden Globe Awards, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Pictur, 2008, Emma Thompson
