I Really Hate My Job

Director Oliver Parker has previously adapted the Oscar Wilde works An Ideal Husband (1999) and The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), and both were fine films, so it’s hard to understand why he took on this slight, talky and very un-Wilde comedy, I Really Hate My Job. The story tells of one chaotic night in a London restaurant when the chef calls in sick, leaving Alice (Shirley Henderson) to frantically fill in. Meanwhile, owner Madonna (Anna Maxwell Martin) is dealing with being left by her lover, and waitress Abbie (Neve Campbell) is in the midst of a full-scale breakdown, which leads to her stripping down and lecturing the shocked patrons.

Shelf Talk: The highly videogenic Campbell is the main draw here, as evidenced by her large image on the box art, but Henderson also should be recognizable to Harry Potter fans for her role in the film series as Moaning Myrtle. The entire cast is actually quite good, and Anglophiles will be drawn to the location and accents, but for others, the whole thing never really gels.