Venus
The boozy and rather randy old actor played by Peter O'Toole in "Venus" isn't that far removed from the one he played — and for which he received a best-actor Oscar nomination in 1982's "My Favorite Year."Still, as familiar as the part is for O'Toole, it's one he wears well.
O'Toole is always watchable, and, consequently, so is this British comedy-drama — even when some of the material gets a little more crude and distasteful than it needs to be.
He stars as Maurice, a semi-retired Shakespearean stage actor who's now consigned to daily visits to the local pastry shop, where he shares stories about his various aches and pains with his pal Ian (veteran British character actor Leslie Phillips).
However, Ian has more to share with Maurice than just stories. His niece's daughter Jessie (newcomer Jodie Whittaker) has come to live with him. But instead of acting as caretaker for Ian, the insolent, crass teen stirs up something within Maurice.
Comparisons to "Pygmalion" aren't unwarranted. Much of director Roger Michell's film concerns Maurice's Henry Higgins-like attempts to work his magic on Jessie, his would-be Eliza Dolittle.
But Maurice's obvious sexual desires for the character are more than a little creepy. There's a welcome subplot dealing with his feelings toward his ex-wife (Vanessa Redgrave), and, frankly, the film could have used more of that.
"Venus" is rated R for strong sexual language and references (profanity and vulgar slang terms), a brief sex scene and some sexual contact, brief female nudity, violence (a brief scuffle), and some brief drug content (prescription drug use). Running time: 95 minutes.
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