Unconditional Love Reviews

This star vehicle for Kathy Bates, which mixes mystery, physical comedy and songs into a melange that entertains more often than not premiered on the Starz! Channel. Chicago homemaker Grace Beasley (Bates), a hopeless romantic, is stuck in an unsatisfying marriage to Max (Dan Ackroyd), who takes potshots at her sense of self-worth while undergoing his own mid-life crisis. Grace worries that her son, Andrew (Jack Noseworthy), is having problems with his wife, Maudey (Meredith Eaton), a dwarf with a big heart. The one bright spot in Grace’s existence is her crush on British pop singer, Victor Fox (Jonathan Pryce). A cross between Engelbert Humperdinck and Neil Diamond, has a devoted following among middle-aged housewives, and when Victor is murdered in America, the crime throws Grace into a tailspin. Defying her estranged husband, she flies to England to attend Victor's wake. After spending time with Victor’s greedy siblings, she realizes that Victor's surly valet, Dirk Simpson (Rupert Everett), was also his lover and that Dirk has little patience for straight women who fantasize about his boyfriend. But once Dirk and Grace overcome their antipathy, they become an oddly cozy pair, dedicated to sticking it to Victor's relatives and solving his murder. Despite her newfound knowledge about Victor's private life, Grace still adores the late performer and upon returning home, she must decide whether following her husband's wishes is worth the price of relinquishing her detective crusade. Accompanied by Dirk and Maudey, Grace discovers that Victor's act had at least one violent critic. Now the amateur sleuths must nail the killer before their fondness for Victor sets him off again. Writer-director P.J. O'Rourke, who penned two hugely successful wedding movies — MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING and MURIEL'S WEDDING — to phenomenal success, falls short with this script; director Jocelyn Moorhouse (PROOF, HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT) in turn throws the ball to Bates, who anchors the mayhem and music through sheer dint of personality.