Lessons in Love
Published November 14, 2015
Film info
- Title Lessons in Love
- Director Tom Vaughan
- Year 2014
- Run time 1hr 39m
- Genre Comedy
- Tagline Every good love story has three sides
By day, Richard Haig, is a well-respected professor at Trinity College in Cambridge, where he teaches 18th century romantic poetry. By night, Richard indulges his own romantic fantasies with a steady stream of beautiful undergraduates, including his most recent beau Kate. But when Kate tells him that she is pregnant the confirmed bachelor has mixed feelings as he’s just met, and fallen for, her gorgeously sassy sister Olivia. Richard and Kate move to Malibu to raise their son Jake and Olivia returns to New York. Richard is devoted to his son and the few two years on the Pacific are idyllic. But professionally he has stalled and Kate has been distant, so Richard is a little hurt but not surprised when Kate confesses she has fallen in love with a younger man, Brian. Richard wants to stay in the U.S. for Jake, but also to be with Olivia who has moved in, along with his father Gordon, who convinces Richard not to give up and do whatever it takes to hold his family together.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:42 | Byron brought a bear to college? Eek! |
| 6:04 | Ah! She dropped her phone down a drain. Nightmare. |
| 7:12 | “You know my solution, get along with everyone.” |
| 10:26 | I did wonder how they could be sisters, with their variety of accents. |
| 13:28 | Having a baby and leaving the country is a lot to drop on someone in one go. |
| 15:22 | “What’s the grievance today, split infinitive on the news?’ |
| 19:42 | Cor, that’s a heck of a house they’ve got. |
| 28:07 | Like the concept of leaving important paperwork in the fridge for the man to find. |
| 34:44 | Oh, they’re going to try fooling the green card people. That never goes well. |
| 42:37 | “What did you say for g?” Love that as a response. |
| 54:34 | If you’re doing it right, I think you’re never too old for homework. |
| 1:03:51 | That’s quite a sight, three men at the end of the pier. |
| 1:12:07 | God, he was almost allowed a moment of joy there. Just one. |
| 1:18:43 | “There’s nothing honourable in misery.” |
| 1:20:08 | Party’s over is a brilliant epitaph. |
Conclusions
This was not the film I was expecting at all. The cover, and the fact that Pierce is in it, are so reminiscent of The Love Punch, that I assumed it was going to be a bit of a rom com dash about beautiful locations with some fun dialogue. It was way more serious than I’d expected, although not a heavy film overall - there were still laughs to be had and a few twists and turns along the way.
It wasn’t a blockbuster romance film, you’ve got Pierce loping around not quite getting his act together, marriages falling apart, and a poor kid stuck in the middle. Really, it was just the right side of indie, not too arty but full of unexpected depths.
I really enjoyed it, a surprise hit!
Rating: 4/5.
Rating: 4 / 5