The Netflix Report: Five Things to Love About Cold Comfort Farm
1. Kate Beckinsale, pre-hot. Back before she was bombed at Pearl Harbor and sold a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera, she was young and unpolished and very, very charming. We find that she does “pert, straightforward ingenue” surprisingly well, and her performance indicates that she has, in fact, read the novel. Extra points for getting to read the line, upon reuniting with her true love, “Charles, you have got heavenly teeth!”
2. Besides the hilarious novel by Stella Gibbons, it’s the title of an old episode of Are You Being Served?, which I didn’t understand until recently. I feel much better now. Thank you, Netflix!
3. Stephen Fry–yes, as in Dr. House’s former comedy partner–perpetually trying to chase Beckinsale down in an attempt to kiss her, ask her on a “walk” (if you…know what we mean), tell her she’s inhibited, and ask her, “Miss Poste, do you believe women have souls?” Oh, Mr. Mybug. Where would we be without you?
4. A truly creepy opening scene that has little to do, tonally, with the rest of the film–there’s nothing scary about Cold Comfort Farm, except maybe the general squalor, but Flora soon gets that in order–but gets things off to a good start, and introduces the ubiquitous “something nasty in the woodshed!”
5. Wonderful casting, both of the stars-at-the-time and the stars-in-the-future variety: Joanna Lumley doing her Ab-Fabbiest thing, Ian McKellen preaching hellfire and damnation, Rufus Sewell looking hot in a tux and probably doing some acting as well, etc. Hilarity ensues.
October 10th, 2007 at 9:04 am
“Oh Miss Poste, I’m engorgingly {sic} in love with you!”
Your aunts would be proud. . .
October 11th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Wow, sounds like I might have to see it.
Which episode of AYBS?
October 12th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Sara–
Hee! I love Mr. Mybug. He just…says things like that, and you can’t not laugh. He’s even better in the book.
October 12th, 2007 at 10:51 am
Heather-
The episode is *called* “Cold Comfort Farm.” It’s the one where…I think the heat is broken, and they go down into the basement to try and fix it, but they get stuck. And that’s all I remember, but it was one of my favorite episodes back in the day, and I never knew what the title referred to (to what the title referred?).