Mum's the Word

I'm a sucker for all things British. OK, not all of them, but one thing's certain—that island across the pond is good at making entertaining cinema. There's a fine art to English humor and black comedies, and Keeping Mum, the newest film from Niall Johnson, is a prime example. The...

By Jennifer Medina

December 21, 2006

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

I'm a sucker for all things British. OK, not all of them, but one thing's certain—that island across the pond is good at making entertaining cinema. There's a fine art to English humor and black comedies, and Keeping Mum, the newest film from Niall Johnson, is a prime example. The film features Rowan Atkinson (of Mr. Bean fame) as a non-stuttering-yet-still-clumsy vicar in the parish of Little Wallop, who is oblivious to the exploits of his wife and the golf pro (Kristin Scott Thomas and Patrick Swayze, respectively) as well as the daily antics of his maladjusted kids. In classic comedy fashion, a nice stranger swoops in to the rescue—sort of. Grace (Dame Maggie Smith) joins the Goodfellow family as their new homicidal Mary Poppins-esque housekeeper, one with a knack for "solving" all of their problems. Keeping Mum will be screened as part of the Magnolia at the Modern series on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St. Tickets are $7.50, $5.50 for Modern members. Call 817-738-9215 or visit themodern.org.
Fri., Dec. 22, 6 & 8 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 23, 5 p.m.; Fri., Dec. 29, 6 & 8 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 30, 5 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 31, 2 & 4 p.m.

KEEP THE OBSERVER FREE... Since we started the Dallas Observer, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.