Beautiful Joe (2000)

Beautiful Joe (2000). 1h 38m | R

“Due to a special affection for Scottish comedy legend Billy Connolly, I saw Beautiful Joe. I love low budget film and I love a good heart tugging story. Connollyu0026#39;s Joe is a charming character that one canu0026#39;t help but like from the films opening. A Scot playing an Irishman amused me, particularly that the extent of his Irish accent was to say u0026quot;Tanksu0026quot; instead of u0026quot;Thanksu0026quot;, but Connollyu0026#39;s charm sees this of little annoyance. Sharon Stone, who I normally donu0026#39;t care for, hits all the right notes in a very good performance as the tough as nails barhopping single mother. The two leads play off each other wonderfully without being drawn into the sentimentality of the piece. The two child actors are also first rate, particularly in their scenes with Connolly. Ian Holm, Dan Florek and Gil Bellows provide some lovely touches in their small roles. The problem? The script is quite predictable and it doesnu0026#39;t take a rocket scientist to put it together. The unforgivable aspect however, is the constant view of the boom microphone in the shot. This doesnu0026#39;t happen just once, it happens several times and so obtrusively that it detracts from the viewers ability to get stuck into and believe the film (at least with this viewer it did). That aspect tainted the film badly, which is a shame because the work of Connolly and Stone is truly first rate. Visible boom microphone aside, Beautiful Joe is well worth seeing as a nice feel good film with some top notch acting.”