A Life Less Ordinary (1997)

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writer:

John Hodge (written by)

Release Date:

24 October 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Comedy | Crime | Fantasy

Tagline:

A comedy for anyone who's ever been in danger...of falling in love.

Plot:

Ewan McGregor stars as a cleaning man in L.A. who takes his boss's daughter hostage after being fired and replaced by a robot...

Plot Keywords:

Angel | Cleaning Man | Hostage | Cult Favorite | Wealth

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Ewan McGregor	...	Robert Lewis
Cameron Diaz	...	Celine Naville
Holly Hunter	...	O'Reilly
Delroy Lindo	...	Jackson
Dan Hedaya	...	Gabriel
Ian McNeice	...	Mayhew
Frank Kanig	...	Ted
Mel Winkler	...	Francis 'Frank' Naville
Stanley Tucci	...	Elliot Zweikel
Anne Cullimore Decker	...	Violet Eldred Gesteten
K.K. Dodds	...	Lily
Tony Shalhoub	...	Al
Christopher Gorham	...	Walt
Ian Holm	...	Naville
Maury Chaykin	...	Tod Johnson

Also Known As:

Une vie moins ordinaire (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Vidas sin reglas (Argentina) (Mexico) [es]
Жизнь хуже обычной (Russia) [ru]
Az élet sója (Hungary) [hu]
Epätavallista elämää (Finland) [fi]
Lebe lieber ungewöhnlich (Germany) [de]
Mia alloiotiki zoi (Greece) [el]
O viata mai putin obisnuita (Romania) [ro]
Odstekano zivljenje (Slovenia) [sl]
Olaganüstü bir hayat (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Por uma Vida Menos Ordinária (Brazil) [pt]
Una història diferent (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Una historia diferente (Spain) [es]
Una historia diferente: de amor, secuestros y otro (Spain) [es]
Una vita esagerata (Italy) [it]
Vidas Diferentes (Portugal) [pt]
Zycie mniej zwyczajne (Poland) [pl]

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:R (certificate #35216) | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:15 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

Ian Holm and Maury Chaykin also co-starred in The Sweet Hereafter (1997), in both movies they had only one scene together.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Robert is digging the grave, Jackson is talking to him, sitting on the ground with legs crossed. There is a cut to Jackson's back, and a few seconds later a front view shows him with legs out-stretched.

Quotes:

Celine: If word got around that I had been liberated for half a million dollars, I could never show my face in polite society again. Diamonds have no value except that which is placed upon them.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in One Step Beyond: The Making of 'Alien: Resurrection' (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

HUMAN

If You Get It, Its Amazing, If Not, Its Not

I remember seeing A Life Less Ordinary back in the late 1990s with high expectations as Trainspotting was one, and still is, one of my all time favorite films. What I got was a different film, but not in a bad way. It was fun and very different from anything else that came out around that time. But the funny thing was that after I saw it I kept thinking about it, little things; lines and camera shots that stuck in my head. By the time I watched it again, a week or so later, it was like the film was an old friend. There is a charm in every scene of A Life Less Ordinary and if you are able to pick up on it the film is a great experience. People I know are split on the film, most think its just OK. Although I enjoy ALLO its not perfect, some parts don't work very well and come across as corny, but the good, my man Ewan is just great as the lovable loser, far outweighs the bad and thats why it has a place in my film collection.

no quote

(This review was originally written by a man but then a robot replaced him.)