A supermarket manager, peeved at the government's lack of responsiveness to ordinary folk, forms a new political party and is unexpectedly elected prime minister. Sounds like a recipe for cynicism-drenched satire, right? Actually, this six-hour BBC-aired miniseries turns out to be much closer in spirit to a Frank Capra movie. As played by Jane Horrocks (of Absolutely Fabulous), Ros Pritchard is an idealistic if also commonsensical woman who stuns the establishment by sending Tony Blair into retirement, appointing the fairer sex to all important cabinet positions, adopting radical stands (such as moving the capital to the country's geographic center and requiring citizens to give up their private cars one day a week for environmental reasons), while also excoriating George Bush for his wrongheaded policies. The British public, in whom she places her trust, goes along with Mrs. Pritchard despite warnings from more politically experienced colleagues that her ideas will generate massive opposition. Ros' greatest difficulties, in fact, are on the literal home front, where familial issues take the series in a soap-opera-ish direction in the final episode, while bringing to a bittersweet conclusion this story of a woman who, like the American president Jimmy Carter, promised never to lie to her constituents—and meant it. The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard is a reasonably pleasant concoction—as long as you can swallow a dollop of implausibility and tolerate some platitudinous political correctness—but by the standards of biting British fare such as Yes, Minister, it's fairly weak tea. Optional. (F. Swietek)
The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard
Acorn, 2 discs, 354 min., not rated, DVD: $39.99 (avail. from WGBH Boston Video w/PPR) December 24, 2007
The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard
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