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The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill
but Came Down a Mountain (1995)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 12/16, 3/22

EngHill
12/16: The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain may seem a pointlessly long title, but after you see the film, it's not hard to be amused by what the hoopla is all about.

The first adjective that should come to mind when describing the English comedy is "charming." It really is. What a great cast. The three standouts are Hugh Grant, Colm Meaney, and Kenneth Griffith. They've made the film, and the story just takes a life of its own.

It's about a couple of English cartographers who come to Ffynnon Garw, a Welsh village, to measure the nearby lump of dirt to see if it qualifies as a hill or a mountain by meeting the 1,000 feet requirement. When the nonchalant locals find out, after thinking it's well above 2,000 to 3,000 feet and taking bets on the estimated measurement, it's only a hill, they become ashamed and, with their national pride on the line, decide to pour extra twenty feet of dirt to make sure it's a mountain.

All in all, because of the unusual story, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain is one of the most charming movies I've seen.

3/22: Downgrading my rating from '8' to '7', The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain is a unique movie about Welsh pride of wanting a local hill to be classified as a mountain.

Colm Meaney and Kenneth Griffith are memorable as Morgan the Goat and the Reverend Robert Jones, respectively. Hugh Grant is great again and shows why he's perfect for this brand of British comedies. Most of all, it's the story that's the heart of the film.

The reason for the point loss in my rating is that it's not a funny movie when there should be plenty of laugh-aloud moments. It has a quaint charm, that's all. The budding relationship between Reginald and Elizabeth is weak and therefore doesn't add much to the overall plot.

All in all, the title The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain says it all.