听 
Hugh Laurie has his first starring role. He's a television commissioning editor accustomed to long lunch breaks, using them to race home on his motorbike and make love to his wife, Joely Richardson. They always seem to be at it somewhere. Their sexual appetite has the nicest motive, they're anxious to start a family, but no matter how hard they try it never works. They are a handsome career couple, but he has writer's block, his job is falling apart and a new, spiky boss skilled in the latest broadcasting jargonspeak is stressing him out.
Emma Thompson, a free-spirited friend, advises him to turn his marital frustrations into a screenplay. His wife won't hear of it, but he goes ahead secretly, scores a hit with the subsequent script (spiced with real-life dialogue transcribed from covert tape recordings) and it's slated for production, with a pretentious Scottish film-maker (Tom Hollander) in charge.
Of course his wife finds out in the worst possible way. So that's the end of the marriage. Or is it?
Ben Elton's abrasive romantic comedy is a bumpy, exhilarating ride. It is larded with choice cameos performed by some old chums (Rowan Atkinson as an un-nerving gynaecologist, Dawn French as a hearty nurse, Joanna Lumley as a lesbian theatrical agent) and its cracking pace holds the interest. The underlying theme, the infertile couple, is for many people a serious issue, but they should not expect charm and sensitivity here.
The rest of us, though, can laugh.
