Saving Grace

Grace (Brenda Blethyn) is a middle-aged English housewife whose husband has jumped out of a plane without a parachute, leaving her with a messy legacy of massive debt. She just doesn't know how she's going to keep a roof over her head, let alone keep the lawyers and mortgage bankers at bay--that is until her pot-head gardener Michael (Craig Ferguson) suggests they use her big, empty greenhouse to grow marijuana. A choice little comedy with an enthusiastic spirit, Saving Grace gets a lot of mileage out of the paradoxical image of an adorable granny type lending her green thumb to the cannabis trade (and, of course, testing the product herself), and Blethyn (Little Voice, Secrets & Lies) couldn't be more ideal in the role. A contrived, pandering, cop-out finale hurts the film, but not enough to stem the steady supply of hearty laughs. A strong optional purchase. (R. Blackwelder)