A Foreign Affair (2003)

Wonderful character development!

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Tim Nelson Blake and David Arquette play two asexual brothers, who after the death of their Mother/housekeeper, decide to go on a bachelor tour to Russia to find a replacement.In Russia, the brothers meet the stereotypical, cardboard cut, vodka swigging Russian characters. The Russians are merely pushed aside in this story as second or even third class citizens while the superior Westerners go about their cherry picking.After Tim Blake has turned down every advance from gorgeous women and shown no interest in a relationship, you can't understand why he went to Russia in the first place. There are plenty of cheap illegals working as housekeepers in LA. He could have booked a trip on greyhound.Instead we are treated to a nauseating hour of Blake going through his highlighted list and his "unfunny" attempts of assigning women numbers. Emily Mortimer appears not as a Russian looking for love and a green card, but as a British investigative reporter doing a story on these tours. Her Russian is quite good and she could have played a Russian love interest. But then again, this film is not about love. It is about finding a maid. David Arquette's character turns out to be a little more human. He warms up to the Russian ladies and scores with a few. But none of the relationships are serious. It is all tongue and cheek, like a frat party. Instead of delving into the various reasons why these men and women join these tours, the film makers simply provide the superficial reasons, the American men want sex, and the Russian women want green cards. The real popularity of these tours stem in part because they offer our pill popping generation a quick fix solution for love and poverty. On the positive side, David Arquette and Emily Mortimer give good performances. Blake is credible, but his character is highly unlikable. Larry Pine does a fantastic job as the greasy tour director. For a low budget film, the cinematography is quite good.Don't waste your time with this trash. Story is weak and stupid. Offensive to women and Russians everywhere.

A Foreign Affair will open on May 7, 2004 in Los Angeles, Phoenix (where the A Foreign Affair romance tour company is located) and Grand Rapids, Michigan, home of Calvin College, where screenwriter Geert Heetebrij went to school. I'd highly recommend seeing the film that weekend if you live anywhere near one of these cities. The film was made on a shoestring budget and so it depends not on special effects, car chases and elaborate scenes, but simply on good acting, a compelling storyline and beautiful cinematography. The premise of the film is simple: two brothers live with their mother and when she dies they're left alone with no abilities to fend for themselves. They head to Russia on a romance tour to find a "wife." They want someone to cook and clean for them for the two years it would take their "bride" to get her green card. Along the way both brothers discover things about themselves and each other, with unexpected results. A Foreign Affair is a quirky, funny, sometimes sweet and always thoughtful piece of filmmaking. It was produced as an independent film, outside of the Hollywood process, and it shows. Well done.

I am a big fan of Tim Blake Nelson, and he did not disappoint in this film about a real "mail order bride" service called "A Foreign Affair". In fact, the filmmakers distributed a copy of the catalog this company puts out. Otherwise, this might seem like a fabrication, I suppose. The film was about two mama's boys (actually mama favored the younger boy) whose mama dies and leaves them helpless and unable to take care of themselves. The older one (Nelson) decides they need a wife (singular...sort of a reverse polygamy), and goes to the library to check out the mail order bride industry. (Allyce Beasley has a funny cameo as the librarian). Then he drags his reluctant brother off to Russia in search of a wife for both of them. Several of the company's real life clients appear in the film, interestingly enough. I enjoyed it immensely, and I hope this somehow finds its way into theaters.

Just saw this movie at Sundance festival last night. Well made, engaging, and funny movie about 2 brothers who go to Russia on a find-a-wife junket. The movie mixes dramatic and doccumentary formats in a unique way. The company "A Foreign Affair" really exists- a travel to meet a russian bride outfit. The actors in the movie actually signed up for the real tour, and some of the footage is of actual russian women whom the actors interact with. Very enjoyable.