Hope Springs

Infobox Film
name = Hope Springs

---

image_size =
director = Mark Herman
producer = Uri Fruchtmann
Barnaby Thompson
writer = Charles Webb (novel)
Mark Herman (screenplay)
starring = Colin Firth
Heather Graham
Minnie Driver
Oliver Platt
music = John Altman
cinematography = Ashley Rowe
editing = Michael Ellis
distributor = Buena Vista Pictures
released = 2003
runtime = 92 min.
imdb_id = 0314431

"Hope Springs" is a 2003 romantic-comedy film, based on the novel "New Cardiff", by Charles Webb, about Colin (Played by Colin Firth), an English painter who comes to the United States after a traumatic experience. It is there that he meets Mandy (Heather Graham), a nursing home worker who helps him get over the breakup between him and Vera (Minnie Driver). It was not a success at the box office. In Britain it made just over £1 million. [http://www.bfi.org.uk/filmtvinfo/stats/boxoffice/ukfeatures-03.html] Criticism was also generally negative; the film receives only a 23% rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

Characters

Colin Ware: Main character. British painter who is emotionally upset after receiving the news that his long time girlfriend Vera is getting married.

Vera Jones: British scheming girlfriend of Colin who travels to America to get Colin back.

Mandy : Free-spirited American nursing home attendant who tries to help out Colin and eventually becomes his love interest.

Joanie Fisher: Hotel owner and Mandy's best friend.

Fisher: Husband of Joanie, gives advice to Colin.

Plot

When Colin arrives in Hope, Vermont, a patriotic town in Northeastern United States in the fall time, he checks into a hotel showing clear signs of emotional distress. The hotel manager, Joanie (Mary Steenburgen) sees the state he is in and calls over her friend Mandy to soothe him and take his mind off his troubles.

Colin and Mandy eventually fall in love with each other, Colin seeming to finally get over the loss of his fiancée Vera. Suddenly, Vera shows up in Hope and tries to get Colin back. Colin is no longer interested but Vera does not give up. Mandy sees the two together and assumes Colin took her back. After Colin promises never to talk to Mandy if she gets a passport Vera finally accepting she has lost her fiancé and becomes Queen of Hope at the town festival.

Joanie calls Mandy and says that Colin's cousin was supposed to meet him and that she should pick him up at Hope Springs. When Mandy gets there she finds it is Colin and he gives her an engagement ring and proposes.

Colin, trying to be manly, carries her all the way back to the hotel where the movie ends.

Trivia

* Oliver Platt's role as the mayor is anomalous: towns in New England generally have no mayor and are governed instead by a town meeting.

External links

* [http://imdb.com/title/tt0314431/ IMDB entry]
* [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hope_springs/ Rotten Tomatoes entry]