The Misadventures of Margaret (1998)
A timid, insecure popular author with an overly-attentive professor husband decide to write an erotic novel. With encouragement from her sister and a bi-sexual friend, she goes to France with the intent of doing research at an inn where a diary she had been using documented erotic encounters. Instead she finds the inn is now a cloister for singing nuns. However, a young, divorced sound engineer is also there taping the nuns. While attracted, she mostly succumbs only to new fantasies until he follows her home to New York.
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Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
One of my all time favorites.
Don't listen to the negative reviews
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
This film is about an author who tries to write a follow up to her successful erotic novel debut. In the process of her research, she begins to question her marriage."The Misadventures of Margaret" tries to be an erotic romantic comedy, but it does not achieve either way. The production is B grade, looking more like a movie with a very tight budget. The plot is a little strange, jumping from fantasy and reality. Some of the fantasy scenes are laughable, and it's not a good thing. Most scenes are not that memorable either. I think "The Misadventures of Margaret" is a miss, despite a great cast.
This is a fun romp, not unlike the exploits on Sex in the City. But not being a fan of that particular show, I found Parker Posey to be endearing and hilarious, unlike Sarah Jessica Parker. Some of Posey's line deliveries made me literally crack up. She carries the film throughout, and it is her charismatic frivolity that makes the film such a treat. Not unlike her turns in the Christopher Guest films like Best in Show, she turns a character on her head and takes her for a ride. Yet Margaret's sexual awakening is definitely a relatable misadventure, and Posey takes you with her on her journey, creating a character you'd actually want to get to know.Too bad it's not that well known because this is an enjoyable little film.
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** My word, this was one horrid little flick. I figured, with Posey and Northam, this might be pretty good. Wrong! Maggie's misadventures are completely of her own doing, and she is the single most unsympathetic character I've seen in quite some time. ***SPOILERS*** Posey meets Northam in Paris, sleeps with him, and then discovers the next day that he's English (oops! She really wanted a Frenchman). So, of course, they decide to get married for some reason. Then, the movie jumps ahead 7 years for some reason, perhaps because the makers felt it would be impossible to develop these characters in any way, as just a few minutes in, you already are asking, "WTF?". While Margaret is a complete psycho, and her husband seems to be the only thing holding her together, she decides she must cheat on him. We're never given any reasons why, unfortunately, but hey, why bother with little details like that? She runs off to France, gets drunk, and tries to bone a Frenchman, but he just puts her to bed--she's furious! Why kind of frog doesn't want to sleep with the crazy married drunk American he just met? She also tries to seduce her dentist, her sister's girlfriend, and the Frenchman yet again, for reasons unknown, failing every time. So, she tries the dentist again, with success! But now, she's still unhappy (poor dear--perhaps her podiatrist would have solved her problems). She then runs to France again, where her husband (inexplicably) woos her back. THE END. This movie had no character development, no common sense, no one to like, and no reason to exist. The pretentious flashbacks to lovers in jolly Olde England were particularly wretched. The only redeeming quality about this film was seeing Posey's bare breasts for a solid 30 seconds.
I love Parker Posey's movies, but this one was horrible. The dialogue was strangely paced, Parker's character had absolutely no depth or reason to care about her, the tension of the fidelity issues between her and her husband was played out entirely wrong.The whole film had a navel-gazing stupor to it, with only a few characters seemingly able to rise above it's silliness. Parker's husband, and her gay editor are the two people who perform their roles with any kind of natural behavior. Kudos also to Brooke Shields, in a minor role with some funny moments.All in all, however, this movie left me cold. The plot was slow, and culminated in an entirely unbelievable scene between Parker and her husband. The dialogue was delivered far too quickly and not enough was said to make you identify with anyone. The editing was also odd: a character would be in New York in one frame, then Paris in another with nothing to let you know why.If you want to see Parker in a better light, watch The House of Yes or The Anniversary Party. Avoid this movie at all costs.