Unconditional Love
Encyclopedia
Unconditional Love is the title of a comedy film released in 2002. The film follows Grace Beasley who in the face of her failing marriage, and the death of her favorite pop star, learns the value and limitations of unconditional love
, and the evils of sexism
and homophobia
. The film was directed by P.J. Hogan who also contributed to the final script.
with her husband, a successful lawyer named Max. One morning, Grace wins tickets to a concert by her favorite singer, Victor Fox, who sings easy listening music about old-fashioned romantic love. Grace is ecstatic, but when she tells Max, he politely announces that he is having a mid-life crisis
and is moving out because he needs to have a more exciting life. Grace tries to console herself by having lunch at a mall cafe with her outspoken dwarf daughter-in-law, Maudey, only to learn that Grace's son, Andrew, has walked out on Maudey and their baby because he is afraid of moving forward.
Grace decides that if Max sees her at the concert on television, their marriage will be saved. However, an announcer at the concert informs them that Victor has been delayed and thus the concert will have to be rescheduled. Saddened, Grace goes to the grocery store, only to faint when the store's radio announces that Fox's body has been found in the underground parking lot of Grace's apartment building. The police suspect that Victor was killed by the mysterious "Cross Bow Killer" who had been linked to the murder of some homeless people living in the parking lot. Maudey and Grace visit a pub Victor had visited the night he was killed. The bartender says Victor's last words to him were, "A life lived in fear is not much fun." Inspired, Grace decides to fly to Fox's British hometown to attend his funeral and, through this crazy stunt, prove to Max that his mid-life crisis does not have to end in their divorce.
In the small town, Grace meets Fox's loyal valet
, Dirk Simpson, whose beautiful obituary for Fox reminds Grace how much she loves Max, unconditionally, even through he had belittled her dreams and aspirations. Grace dines with Fox's sisters and family lawyer, who mistake her for someone from Victor's record company. They show her childhood pictures of Fox, some of which show him dressing up in female clothing. They tell her that Dirk is a no-good lowlife that is spreading slanderous lies that he and Victor had been involved in "perverse sexual relations" for over ten years and that Victor would have wanted Dirk to have his cottage. When the sisters discover Grace is a mere fan, they shun her, but the lawyer offers to compensate Grace if she can persuade Simpson to "let go and move on" and agree to a large cash settlement for his silence.
Grace makes a long distance call home to Max, who has been discussing putting Grace in an asylum. Max threatens to sell off their material possessions to pay for Grace's "vacation", but eventually advises Grace that Dirk would need proof of his relationship with Victor in order to make a valid claim on the cottage. Grace visits Dirk, who reveals that Victor's family members are snotty homophobes who had Victor institutionalized when he came out
as being gay
as a teenager and disowned him soon afterwards. Fox sisters want Victor's cottage in order to turn it into a memorial that will preserve the lie that he was a heterosexual. Grace also learns that Fox frequently cheated on Simpson with other men, and Grace and Dirk develop a bond based upon their shared experiences of mistreatment by the men in their lives and relegation to the invisible roles of housewife and valet. Still, both characters continue to love their significant others because they base their relationships on unconditional love. Grace and Dirk secretly change Victor's burial clothing to a pink robe that Victor often wore in defiance of his family. At the televised funeral, the Fox sisters scream at the open casket and Victor is outed posthumously.
Grace and Dirk leave for Chicago to track down Fox's killer. Maudey is thrilled Grace has returned and shows her a handgun that the trio can use to hunt down the Cross Bow Killer. In the underground parking lot, the trio runs into a group of homeless people who have had several of their friends killed by the Cross Bow Killer and are not the dangerous and lowlife people they are portrayed as. The police notice Grace, Maudey, and Dirk wandering the parking lot and arrest them. Max and Andrew pick up their wives and reconcile their marriages.
Dirk continues to ponder why the serial killer targets the homeless and celebrities, eventually realizing that the he targets anyone that sings in the parking lot. Grace, Maudey, and Dirk reunite in the parking lot in time to run into the masked Cross Bow Killer. The Killer takes off his mask and is revealed to be the lonely twenty-something working class man that washes the upper-middle class apartment dwellers windows. The man turns violent and the trio flee to a raising bridge. After Dirk is hit by the killer's arrow, Maudey knocks the serial killer off the bridge with a cell phone, where he falls to his death onto a boat party of a wealthy socialite. Dirk is rushed to the hospital. Grace calls Max to say that she is no longer willing to base their marriage on unconditional love. Max replies that he is not sure if he can be different, but that he respects Grace and her career ambitions.
The film ends with the trio being celebrated on Sally Jesse Raphael's talk show as celebrities that have tracked down the serial killer. Dirk announces, with Fox's sisters sitting in the audience, that he is turning Fox's home into a halfway house for gay youth who are kicked out of their homes by their bigoted parents. Maudey reports that a cell phone company is having her sponsor their new line of phones. Max appears in the audience and asks for Grace to start her singing career right now on national television. Celebrity Barry Manilow
walks onto the stage and joins Grace in a song.
continually postponed the American release, leaving the film on the shelf until finally premiering it on the Starz network in August 2003 and then sending it direct-to-DVD that October. The film has generally received mixed reviews from film critics who often ignore the film's political commentary and simply see it as a quirky or poorly written comedy.
Christopher Mull wrote, "It's a sloppy mishmash of stories...none of which stand on their own and which crash disastrously when combined. Bates comes off as dippy and distant. Everett comes of [sic] as mean and crusty. Pryce is just inexplicable with a gray pompadour and blue sequins. And Manilow rocks. Er..."
Jason Bovberg had slightly kinder things to say about the film. "As a dark comedy, Unconditional Love can be occasionally effective. There are a few moments in this film that had me laughing quite hysterically. Merely the sight of Jonathan Pryce shuffle-dancing through clouds over the opening credits loads the film with promise. And Meredith Eaton as Maudey steals every scene she's in. But in the end, you can't escape the fact that Bates has difficulty carrying this movie and in fact, doesn't seem to really understand the type of film she's in."
and includes the film's trailer, and the ability to view a deleted scene which many critics felt should have remained in the film. Fans of the film are hoping for the release of a special edition DVD that includes an audio commentary to explain the film's political commentary.
Unconditional love
Unconditional love is a term that means to love someone regardless of one's actions or beliefs. It is a concept comparable to true love, a term which is more frequently used to describe love between lovers. By contrast, unconditional love is frequently used to describe love between family members,...
, and the evils of sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
and homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
. The film was directed by P.J. Hogan who also contributed to the final script.
Plot summary
Grace Beasley has been content to live an unseen life as an upper-middle class housewife in an apartment high above the city of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
with her husband, a successful lawyer named Max. One morning, Grace wins tickets to a concert by her favorite singer, Victor Fox, who sings easy listening music about old-fashioned romantic love. Grace is ecstatic, but when she tells Max, he politely announces that he is having a mid-life crisis
Mid-life crisis
Midlife crisis is a term coined in 1965 by Elliott Jaques and used in Western societies to describe a period of dramatic self-doubt that is felt by some individuals in the "middle years" or middle age of life, as a result of sensing the passing of their own youth and the imminence of their old age...
and is moving out because he needs to have a more exciting life. Grace tries to console herself by having lunch at a mall cafe with her outspoken dwarf daughter-in-law, Maudey, only to learn that Grace's son, Andrew, has walked out on Maudey and their baby because he is afraid of moving forward.
Grace decides that if Max sees her at the concert on television, their marriage will be saved. However, an announcer at the concert informs them that Victor has been delayed and thus the concert will have to be rescheduled. Saddened, Grace goes to the grocery store, only to faint when the store's radio announces that Fox's body has been found in the underground parking lot of Grace's apartment building. The police suspect that Victor was killed by the mysterious "Cross Bow Killer" who had been linked to the murder of some homeless people living in the parking lot. Maudey and Grace visit a pub Victor had visited the night he was killed. The bartender says Victor's last words to him were, "A life lived in fear is not much fun." Inspired, Grace decides to fly to Fox's British hometown to attend his funeral and, through this crazy stunt, prove to Max that his mid-life crisis does not have to end in their divorce.
In the small town, Grace meets Fox's loyal valet
Valet
Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...
, Dirk Simpson, whose beautiful obituary for Fox reminds Grace how much she loves Max, unconditionally, even through he had belittled her dreams and aspirations. Grace dines with Fox's sisters and family lawyer, who mistake her for someone from Victor's record company. They show her childhood pictures of Fox, some of which show him dressing up in female clothing. They tell her that Dirk is a no-good lowlife that is spreading slanderous lies that he and Victor had been involved in "perverse sexual relations" for over ten years and that Victor would have wanted Dirk to have his cottage. When the sisters discover Grace is a mere fan, they shun her, but the lawyer offers to compensate Grace if she can persuade Simpson to "let go and move on" and agree to a large cash settlement for his silence.
Grace makes a long distance call home to Max, who has been discussing putting Grace in an asylum. Max threatens to sell off their material possessions to pay for Grace's "vacation", but eventually advises Grace that Dirk would need proof of his relationship with Victor in order to make a valid claim on the cottage. Grace visits Dirk, who reveals that Victor's family members are snotty homophobes who had Victor institutionalized when he came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as being gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
as a teenager and disowned him soon afterwards. Fox sisters want Victor's cottage in order to turn it into a memorial that will preserve the lie that he was a heterosexual. Grace also learns that Fox frequently cheated on Simpson with other men, and Grace and Dirk develop a bond based upon their shared experiences of mistreatment by the men in their lives and relegation to the invisible roles of housewife and valet. Still, both characters continue to love their significant others because they base their relationships on unconditional love. Grace and Dirk secretly change Victor's burial clothing to a pink robe that Victor often wore in defiance of his family. At the televised funeral, the Fox sisters scream at the open casket and Victor is outed posthumously.
Grace and Dirk leave for Chicago to track down Fox's killer. Maudey is thrilled Grace has returned and shows her a handgun that the trio can use to hunt down the Cross Bow Killer. In the underground parking lot, the trio runs into a group of homeless people who have had several of their friends killed by the Cross Bow Killer and are not the dangerous and lowlife people they are portrayed as. The police notice Grace, Maudey, and Dirk wandering the parking lot and arrest them. Max and Andrew pick up their wives and reconcile their marriages.
Dirk continues to ponder why the serial killer targets the homeless and celebrities, eventually realizing that the he targets anyone that sings in the parking lot. Grace, Maudey, and Dirk reunite in the parking lot in time to run into the masked Cross Bow Killer. The Killer takes off his mask and is revealed to be the lonely twenty-something working class man that washes the upper-middle class apartment dwellers windows. The man turns violent and the trio flee to a raising bridge. After Dirk is hit by the killer's arrow, Maudey knocks the serial killer off the bridge with a cell phone, where he falls to his death onto a boat party of a wealthy socialite. Dirk is rushed to the hospital. Grace calls Max to say that she is no longer willing to base their marriage on unconditional love. Max replies that he is not sure if he can be different, but that he respects Grace and her career ambitions.
The film ends with the trio being celebrated on Sally Jesse Raphael's talk show as celebrities that have tracked down the serial killer. Dirk announces, with Fox's sisters sitting in the audience, that he is turning Fox's home into a halfway house for gay youth who are kicked out of their homes by their bigoted parents. Maudey reports that a cell phone company is having her sponsor their new line of phones. Max appears in the audience and asks for Grace to start her singing career right now on national television. Celebrity Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
walks onto the stage and joins Grace in a song.
Critical reception
The film was shot in late 1999 and early 2000 in Chicago and England, but New Line CinemaNew Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
continually postponed the American release, leaving the film on the shelf until finally premiering it on the Starz network in August 2003 and then sending it direct-to-DVD that October. The film has generally received mixed reviews from film critics who often ignore the film's political commentary and simply see it as a quirky or poorly written comedy.
Christopher Mull wrote, "It's a sloppy mishmash of stories...none of which stand on their own and which crash disastrously when combined. Bates comes off as dippy and distant. Everett comes of [sic] as mean and crusty. Pryce is just inexplicable with a gray pompadour and blue sequins. And Manilow rocks. Er..."
Jason Bovberg had slightly kinder things to say about the film. "As a dark comedy, Unconditional Love can be occasionally effective. There are a few moments in this film that had me laughing quite hysterically. Merely the sight of Jonathan Pryce shuffle-dancing through clouds over the opening credits loads the film with promise. And Meredith Eaton as Maudey steals every scene she's in. But in the end, you can't escape the fact that Bates has difficulty carrying this movie and in fact, doesn't seem to really understand the type of film she's in."
DVD
The film is available on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and includes the film's trailer, and the ability to view a deleted scene which many critics felt should have remained in the film. Fans of the film are hoping for the release of a special edition DVD that includes an audio commentary to explain the film's political commentary.