Buy Unconditional Love on DVD

Unconditional Love

DVD

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$6.99

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Synopsis

Kathy Bates, Rupert Everett, Jonathan Pryce and Dan Ackroyd in a gay fantasy and music-laden British confection with 2 musical cameos from Julie Andrews!!

Review

While we had to wait six years for P.J. Hogan's (Muriel's Wedding) follow-up to My Best Friend's Wedding, it was well worth the wait! This unpredictable romantic comedy features an all-star ensemble cast and lots of queer fun. On the same day her stodgy husband Max (Dan Aykroyd) announces he wants a divorce, Grace's (Kathy Bates) favorite singer, Victor Fox (a sequin-suit clad Jonathan Pryce), is murdered. Doubly distraught, the frumpy, middle-aged Grace throws caution to the wind and travels to England for Fox's funeral. There she discovers that her idol, whose reputation was that of a captivating loverman (think Tom Jones crossed with Liberace), was gay after she meets his lover, Dirk Simpson (Rupert Everett). After forming an alliance against Fox's upper crust family, who would like to suppress news of Fox's homosexuality, the pair decide to return to Chicago and bring Fox's killer to justice.

Kathy Bates shines as a bored/boring housewife who has apparently never held a job. The apartment Grace shared with Max on South Wacker Drive in Chicago reeks of money and no particular taste. When her husband leaves her for some excitement, Grace takes this as her ticket out of her humdrum life. With musical numbers on an airplane, in the area under a roadway where the homeless live and almost everywhere, Unconditional Love shines. Jonathan Pryce not only sings rather well, he's wearing a blue sequined suit in his role as the dead pop singer who looks on the events unfolding. The amazing ensemble cast includes cameos from Julie Andrews (who sings "Getting to Know You" twice in the film)and Barry Manilow, Sally Jesse Raphael and a scene-stealing Meredith Eaton as Grace's dwarf daughter-in-law.

Tim Brough

Product Format Information

DVD : $6.99

Availability: In stock and ready to ship
Close Caption: Yes
Region Code: 1
UPC: 794043631627

Studio : New Line

Languages: English Dolby Digital 5.1 (Primary)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35, Widescreen
Extras: Deleted Scenes

Customer Reviews

A Comfort Film

Amos Lassen wrote on 04/03/2011:

“Unconditional Love” has everything—Barry Manilow, a dwarf, Kathy Bates as a romantic lead, a great script and it all works beautifully. Here is a delightful movie in which Kathy Bates plays Grace Beasley who leaves married life in Chicago to move to the English home of her newly murdered singing idol, Victor Fox. When she arrives in England, she discovers that Victor left behind a male lover, Dirk Simpson. As Grace and Dirk develop camaraderie and hilarious things happen. They eventually arrive back in Chicago and team up with Grace’s midget daughter-in-law, Maudie and are off o their way to find out who murdered Victor.
Corny, touching, hilarious, sensitive, crazy—these are all words that could be used to describe the movie. And the cast is unbelievable—Aside from Kathy Bates we also have Jonathan Pryce, Lyn Redgrave, Rupert Everett, Julie Andrews and Dan Aykroyd. There is something for everyone-murder, singing, fabulous costumes, psychoses, etc, etc. And to put the icing on the cake there is Barry Manilow. The movie is totally absurd ad Bates s wonderful.
For some reason the movie never had widespread release and I suppose that is because it is so different. It starts with great promise and it never fails. Unconditionally entertaining, you do not want to miss “Unconditional Love”.

a must see movie

marty wrote on 10/04/2004:

excellent performances by all the leads. part love story. part thriller. part camp... ok BIG part camp thanks in no small part to julie andrews playing julie andrews! i'm torn between wanting to tell all and not wanting to ruin your enjoyment of the movie by saying anything at all. bottom line: buy it! invite your friends over and watch it - over and over!!

0 (No Stars) Very Funny Gay Hijinks

Gay Movie Viewer (jamesvmorris@verizon.net) wrote on 12/07/2003:

I bought this film a few months ago from TLA, and didn’t have time to watch it until a friend invited me over for dinner last night, and I brought it with me on the spur of the moment. After dinner, we were pleasantly surprised – the film was wacky, genuinely funny, and had a surprise twist in just about every new scene. The entire cast was hilarious, but the shenanigans of Meredith Eaton as the scene-stealing daughter-in-law were absolutely hysterical. I expect to screen this one a few more times; my friend and I laughed out loud many times during the unraveling of the bizarre, silly plot. In the final scene, where the audience of the Sally Jessy Raphael show all sing along with the cast (and Barry Manilow himself), we found ourselves singing along with glee to the otherwise tacky Manilow hit Can’t Smile Without You. Julie Andrews played herself with deprecating humor in two great cameo scenes (it reminded me of Ethel Merman’s sudden appearance in Airplane, but there was more of Julie). This film was a genuine screwball comedy, and put smiles on our faces that lasted all night. See it.