Martin Henderson

Reviewed by Rosie
March 2, 2006

I read in a review on imdb, I think, that this movie is about a surrogate mother. Right there I thought this is not my kind of entertainment and figured this is one MH movie I am going to pass on. But when I read the review a bit further and saw that there is a mention of lots of funny scenes and I love comedy, I though maybe I should give it try. Then I checked Amazon.com and realized that the DVD is only available in region 2 format and that became a roadblock until a few weeks later when I decided to get a UK version of the "Bride and Prejudice". I had read that there are extras on that DVD that has not been included in the US version and of course was very curious to see those scenes. So I figured I should get "Skagerrak" at the same time to watch it, while I switch my DVD drives to region 2, since annoyingly we can only switch the regions five times before it becomes permanent! And that is the long story of how I came to watch this movie, LOL. I have to admit that I am very glad I decided to get it.

Even though the movie is about a surrogate mother, there is no angst of who is going to get the baby, I am too attached to this baby and I can not give him/her up, what was I thinking before I got pregnant, but you agreed to give us this baby, you signed a contract, you are by law obligated to do that, etc etc etc...

The story here is actually about two best friends, Marie and Sophie, who live for the moment. They love to travel and everywhere they go, they find jobs so they can earn money to party all night. Sophie dreams of living in a big house in the country, with a loving husband and lots and lots of children. Marie on the other hand does not want anything and in particular she does not want any kids. Right there I started thinking are they trying to imply that there is an age difference between Marie and Sophie. So since I was watching this movie on my computer a trip to imdb showed that no the actresses are actually the same age, so I figured their characters are also probably the same age, and thus this difference in what they want out of life and their future is going to play some other way. Oh, in case you are wondering both actors were in their early thirties when they played in this movie, but we actually find out how old Marie is. Her birthday in her passport is shown to be 1968 and when she signs the adoption contract she puts the date as 1997.

Anyhow, one night Sophie is attacked and rubbed. Luck had it that she was carrying the bulk of their money. The next morning when Marie finds Sophie injured she takes her to the hospital. In the hospital Marie runs into an older gentleman named Robert who shows interest in knowing who she is. He asks her if she is from around there and what is her name. Marie also conveniently offers the extra information of where she lives, LOL. So the next day, there is a note under their door that there is a job opportunity for Marie and if she is interested to contact Robert. She goes to Robert's estate and the job opportunity is of course to become a surrogate mother for Robert's son and daughter-in-law so that their mansion can have an owner who can carry on living there after these people are all gone!!! If this is not a noble reason to have a child I do not know what is?!

At this point instead of concentrating on the movie I am starting to think who is the daughter-in-law? I have seen her somewhere else. Yes, another trip to imdb states that she played Ross's wife (Ross, the one in "Friends"). If I remember correctly she played Ross's bride, the one that Ross called Rachel at the alter, oops!

Anyhow, back to "Skagerrak". Where was I? Yes. Marie gets very disturb by this job offer and runs away from the mansion. However Sophie talks her into going back and accepting the offer. And this is where the difference between where Marie and Sophie see their future becomes apparent. Marie does not want a child, she does not want to be pregnant, however, Sophie does want many children and she does not mind carrying one for someone else. She says that if they wanted her she would have accepted it. So Marie goes back and gets impregnated by the son and she makes Sophie promises her that she will be with her every step of the way throughout the pregnancy, the promise that Sophie cannot keep.

So let's get to the funny parts. There are these three mechanics that their connection to the story is that they work for a guy called Ken, who Sophie refers to as her boyfriend. But I got the feeling that it was a short fling and Sophie just hold on to it and pretended it was more serious. Actually Marie, the best friend that supposedly is always with Sophie has never met Ken before. Or maybe Sophie and Ken dated before Sophie and Marie met, I do not know. Anyhow, Marie goes to Ken's garage and meets the three mechanics, but no Ken.

On the other end Robert and his family decide to send their veterinarian and friend Ian, played by MH to watch over Marie while she is carrying the child. Ian locates Marie and while following her falls down and breaks his leg. Next he is kicked out of his rented room. The three mechanics see Ian being kicked out and offer him a room if he pretends to be their boss Ken and talk Marie into staying until the real Ken shows up to "clear it all up". Their reasoning is that Ken owes them money, at some point he dated Sophie, who is Marie's best friend. Marie has a check, the one that the Robert gave her to carry his grandchild, and she is going to cash it at some point. They believed that they have a right to the portion or preferably all that money through this connection! So they need Marie to stay, cash the check, and thus they can get "their" money.

Ian agrees to be Ken watching over Marie since he is watching over Marie as Ian for his employer to begin with. There is one scene that the three mechanics are giving advice to Ian on how to be Ken. They very seriously tell him he "has to smoke more and be a bigger asshole if he wants to be true to Ken's personality and character." Ian does not know whether these guys are joking or are they serious, so MH delivers his line while laughing. That was a fun scene to watch. And in case you are wondering, yes, I went back and watched it couple of more times afterward, LOL.

There are I think three scenes where MH delivers his line while whispering to showcase Ian/Ken's affection and love for Marie. These scenes are very sweet and tender. You know I switched the language to German to hear the actor's voice saying the lines in German and to see if he does the same thing as MH and does the viewer gets the same sense from these scenes with the German language? And I believe, no you cannot feel the same effect when you switch the language. That right there showed me what a good actor MH really is. You know, I am glad that this DVD had included the original-spoken language in addition to German, since it was made for the German audience. I do understand German but I find it very annoying seeing the lips say one word and understand it and then hearing something else. But beside that I wanted to be able to hear MH's own voice; it is really not the same just seeing him and hearing someone else's, LOL.

Anyhow, as part of the extras there is an interview with MH. He is real funny in person. In one scene he says something to the effect of, "I am a New Zealander, playing an American, in a Danish film, shooting in Glasgow and Sweden, with British, Danish and Irish actors. The director is Danish, he speaks to me in English but sometimes in Danish and I wonder what is he saying. And in all these chaos I am trying to remember who this character is suppose to be." Yep, I bet that must have been very challenging.

In another interview, I think for the movie "The Ring", MH says that he is the goofiest actor he knows, and that he had fallen down a lot during the filming of that movie. I have seen two outtakes one from the "Bride and Prejudice" and now one from "Skagerrak" that he falls down while filming. I guess he was not exaggerating when he admitted that he falls down a lot, LOL.

And finally in case you are wondering, no have not switched back to region 1 yet. I guess I am going to hold on to region 2 for a few more days to watch "Skagerrak" couple of more times. Can you tell that I liked it a lot?