The Gentlemen came out just as the pandemic shut down theatres last year, so we had seen the trailer for months. It was on my must see list (very few movies weren’t on the list as tickets were $6 at our beloved Xscape theater), but I was apprehensive. When did I last see a really good Matthew McConaughey movie? Certainly not 2019’s Serenity, we really need to go back eight or nine years to The Wolf of Wall Street and the Dallas Buyers Club.
But The Gentlemen’s cast was drawing me in, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant, Charlie Hunnam..I decided to jump in and give it a chance.
So, our main character, Mickey Pearson (McConaughey) is an American expat who heads a very large marijuana empire in London. Pearson originally came to London as a university student but found his true calling in supplying his fellow students’ marijuana, branching out to locals, and eventually partnering with down on their luck aristocrats, renting their rundown lands as growing labs. Mickey has been in the business for decades; he sees the end coming with the legalization of marijuana looming in the coming years and is planning his exit from the business. He has two potential buyers of his empire, Matthew an American Jewish billionaire who may or may not be gay, and Dry Eye a Chinese gangster.
I have to warn you, the first twenty minutes of this movie has you asking yourself, what did I miss, was there a prequel? I was completely lost, and if not for the fact that the remote was out of my reach and I was extremely comfortable on the sofa, (glass of wine, favorite throw blanket, fireplace on), I would of channel surfed and you wouldn’t be reading this.
But give it the twenty minutes and wait for Hugh Grant’s arrival as Fletcher, because he saves this movie (sorry Matthew). Fletcher, has written a screenplay, a supposed fictional story that mirrors Mickey’s rise and current situation of trying to sell his business, so there is a running script from Fletcher that is playing into the script of The Gentlemen. So, what is fact and what is fiction? There are several layers here, which begins to turn this movie around, and eases your hand away from the remote. Hugh Grant is fabulous in his bantering with Ray, Mickey’s right-hand man (Hunnam) their screen time together is refreshing and comical.
Let’s not forget Colin Farrell, as Coach who runs a boxing club, insisting he is not a crook but so is.
These are such random characters, but they all meld so well, and as middle-aged actors, who were Hollywood heartthrobs in their younger days, this is a fabulous movie to actually show their acting skills.
Okay, so there are some really lame parts of this movie, Coach’s team of inner-city boxers who video and post their breakdancing, martial arts break in of Mickey’s pot lab. Roz, Mickey’s wife, owns a body shop employed entirely by beautiful women mechanics. Why feel the need to portray potential business buyer Matthew as clichéd Jewish and potential gay?
But, all in all, it’s not a bad movie, it actually keeps you guessing the real storyline till the end. The Gentlemen is rated a solid C, which is amazing after the first confusing twenty minutes.
As for my beverage selection…..Glenfarclas “Grant Edition” 1976 Scotch which is what Fletcher and Ray drink while Fletcher unfolds his screenplay’s plot. It’s a bit pricey, so, if needed substitute your favorite scotch, but use a really nice glass.
Comments