“Last Chance Harvey” could also be called “Mediocre Harvey.” Or “Ho-Hum Harvey.” It’s a low-key romantic comedy about two lonely hearts who strike up a connection in London ironically without too much romance or comedy.
Down-on-his-luck Harvey’s (Dustin Hoffman) life is a mess. He’s over-the-hill. He’s a music composer whose job has become all but obsolete because of the wonders of technology. Worst of all, he’s also essentially been replaced by his ex-wife’s new perfect husband (James Brolin), and he flies to London for his daughter’s wedding only to find out the stepfather will be walking her down the aisle.
Lucky for him, he found Kate (Emma Thompson), the equally sad albeit younger woman. Like Harvey, she’s a misfit in society who never seems to connect with anyone. She also wants to be a writer but is instead confined to the Heathrow Airport conducting surveys from arriving travelers, which is where she meets Harvey.
Their romance, however, isn’t so lucky for us. They bond roaming the streets of London discussing their lives and failed aspirations and while they prove to be good for each other, their romance lacks intensity, passion and reality. They know each other for all of a day and Harvey’s willing to risk everything for a woman he barely knows.
It’s the movies so of course we expect couples to instantly fall in love and live happily ever after; but, we’re not really rooting that hard for them. They just seem like two lonely people who can connect because they’re both… well lonely.
To make matters worse, a few obligatory problems are thrown into the mix to propel the story through its three acts. Yet, these problems are themselves problematic to the film because they’re both created and solved way too easily making for a predictable and slow-going story. Even the beauty of London was lackluster and not all that romantic or interesting, so even a few red double-decker buses and Big Ben can’t save “Harvey.”
It’s not that “Last Chance Harvey” is a bad film. It’s just not a great one. While the acting is good, it’s nothing exceptional from Hoffman and Thompson. It just seems like two veteran, talented actors decided to take a break from big-budget Hollywood films to instead tell a small-scale, quiet story that harkens back to their thespian days.
So do give “Harvey” a chance. Just wait until it comes out on DVD.
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