Mushrooms

Flo and Minnie are two old friends who are forced to cope with life in slightly odd ways since the demise of their halfcrooked husbands. Flo goes downtown and shoplifts everything she can get her hands on, from vegetables to kitchen utensils, while Minnie looks after their small hotel and pawnshop where guests and customers are scarce. Suddenly the domestic peace is severely disrupted when a petty thief by the name of Grubb bursts into their home with a bag full of stolen money, closely followed by Harry, a policeman advanced in years who has been transferred to the city before retirement. Grubb takes Flo hostage in her room upstairs while Minnie, unaware of the dramatic course of events, chats to the policemen who are looking for Grubb. Harry turns out to be very charming and has the gift of the gab, and he starts to flirt with Minnie. Suddenly he has managed to rent a room at the hotel - to Flo's unspeakable terror.Sometime later when Harry tries to be kind and fix a broken gas stove in the house he unwittingly gases Grubb who has happily drunk the ladies' whiskey and fallen asleep in Flo's bedroom. The next morning Flo and Minnie discover the stiff and extremely dead Grubb. Panic-stricken when facing the imminent police investigation, the friends decide to get rid of him - one piece at a time. But even though he is dead Grubb abuses the ladies' hospitality, because no matter how they try they cannot get rid of the indifferent and reluctant former thief in a hurry. Harry is also a constant threat to the friends in the background; partly because of his role as a policeman, partly as the object of the ladies' growing desire and as a reminder of past wrongs. The luxurious and beautiful photography with its rich colors stands out together with completely believable characterizations by, above all, the older actors in this bizarre and entertaining comedy. The calm pace also gives the film's other, less expected, ingredients such as melancholy, warmth and lust for life, a chance to develop at their own speed and slowly be absorbed by the viewer. The occasionally morbid humour is never allowed to take over for its own sake; it is more of a very subtle pleasurable injection in to the plot. Alan Madden, the director, who also wrote the crafty and well-composed script, at least partly seems to be inspired by such widely varied films as Arsenic and Old Lace (1943), Ladykillers (1955) and the more recent Delicatessen (1991). He also knows his Hitchcock and keeps the suspense alive by unexpected twists and turns in a way that leaves the viewer unsure of what to expect next. PL

Premiärstatus
Nordisk premiär: Medverkande
Julia Blake, Simon Chilvers, Lynette Curran: Producent
Brian Rosen: Manus
Alan Madden: Foto
Louis Irving: Musik
Paul Grabowsky: Talat språk
English