A film with too many ideas and not enough focus.
Nigel Bell After Moulin Rouge and The Others, Nicole Kidman is on for a hat-trick of success. Sadly for her, ex-Tom Cruise is the only one likely to be celebrating and that's for Minority Report. The Plot
Boring banker John Buckingham seeks a partner via the internet. He joins the From Russia With Love agency and buys himself Nicole Kidman, on the promise she can speak fluent English. When she answers questions like "Are you a giraffe" with "yes" he knows he's in trouble. Calls to the agency are worthless. He's lumbered.  | | Who's a bit tied up then? |
Nadia (Kidman) takes the direct way to John's heart (and it isn't by cooking). When she discovers his stash of porn John's life improves still further. It's all too good to be true. Nadia announces it's her birthday and two friends from Russia arrive. John's life will never be the same again. The verdict
Birthday Girl begins with a really interesting premise. Why should someone as seemingly steady as John seek love from Russia and what would you do if you were suddenly faced with living with a non-English speaking wife? Sadly, from the moment Nadia's friends Yuri and Alexi arrive the film goes pear-shaped. That's not to say the acting is bad.  | | We're taking over |
Kidman delivers in a brave role where her beauty is laid bare by no make-up, torn clothes and bruised skin. She also goes through most of the film saying only "yes" but still commands attention. Without stamping any authority, Chaplin (star of the BBC comedy series Game On and also in Murder By Numbers) is okay as lead man John. Even Mathieu Kassovitz (of Amelie fame) and Vincent Cassel (the voice of Robin Hood in Shrek) are engaging as Nadia's friends. The problem is in the writing. Jez and Tom Butterworth don't seem to know what they want from this film. It begins as a comedy, although an extremely light comedy. Don't believe what anyone else might say, the humour in this is nowhere near that of a film like About A Boy. But suddenly the it lurches to thriller / heist status. This only succeeds in watering everything down before becoming ludicrous towards the end. A disappointment given the potential of the storyline especially when John becomes a virtual prisoner in his own home. 
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