Honey, my eggs are ready: Sam and Lucy (Laurie and Richardson) have a happy marriage strained by childlessness.
Sam and Lucy (Laurie and Richardson, reunited after 101 Dalmatians) are a very happy couple who desperately want a baby. But nothing seems to work, so they enter the strange world of fertility testing and IVF, while life goes on all around them. Sam's job as a BBC writer is going nowhere; he needs inspiration for a script. And as a theatrical agent, Lucy finds herself attracted to one of her handsome actor clients (Purefoy). Can their marriage survive all the strain?
Elton is always good at finding real humour in everyday situations, and this film is jammed full of hilarious moments, sharp satire and very vivid characters, including Lester's cynical coworker, Atkinson's fumbling doctor, Thompson's new age wacko, Macfayden's corp-speak executive, and especially Hollander's hot-shot director. But the story is also grounded in its serious themes, and the betrayals and doubts are honest and tough. This makes the film much more than a comedy about infertility ... it's a careful examination of the inner workings of a marriage without any sticky sentimentality at all. And as such, it's surprisingly effective stuff.
[15--adult themes, sexual situations, language] 23.May.00
UK release 2.Jun.00; US release 24.Aug.01
