My Life So Far

Scottish eccentrics are always welcome company. This charming and nostalgic coming-of-age film, based on Denis Forman's book, Son of Adam, introduces the "bonkers" Pettigrew family, who live on a grand and sprawling estate in the 1920s. Seen through the eyes of the narrator, Fraser (Robbie Norman), who recalls a pivotal summer when he was 10-years-old, the players in this melodrama include his stern grandmother (Rosemary Harris) who reigns over the family; his father Edward (Colin Firth), an inventor who loves Beethoven and the Bible, and who operates the world's only moss factory; his more practical businessman uncle Morris (Malcolm McDowell); his mother Moira (a miscast Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), who "threw away her opera career for love"; and Heloise (the ravishing Irene Jacob), Morris's young fiancée who captivates both Fraser and his father. Observing, but not comprehending all, is Fraser, whose sexual awakening is spurred by furtive peeks down the dress of the maid who bathes him and his discovery in the attic of a cache of his late grandfather's dirty books. Those who still have a bad taste in their mouths from the father-son talks in Happiness can at last cleanse their palates with Fraser and Edward's hilarious and awkward tête-à-tête. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)[DVD Review—Oct. 25, 2011—Echo Bridge, 95 min., PG-13, $6.99—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1999's My Life So Far features a nice transfer but no extras. Bottom line: a delightful film at a bargain price.]