Crush

The 'Sad Fuckers Club' meets every week for gin, chocolate and commiseration. Not so young and free, but definitely single, Kate (MacDowell) is headmistress at the village school; Janine (Staunton) a liberal-minded police inspector with a masturbating son; and Molly (Chancellor) a man-hungry GP with three ex-husbands. Then Kate meets organist Jed (Doughty) at a funeral he's playing. An ex-pupil little more than half her age, he makes her cry and then he makes her come - repeatedly. Scandalised, protective of their friend and hideously jealous, Molly and Janine try to save her from herself. If the presence of MacDowell and Chancellor suggests a distaff Four Weddings and a Funeral, that's not too far off the mark. On the face of it, this is a similarly classy proposition, a witty affair proceeding with a slightly forced brisk efficiency, until, that is, McKay's script dives precipitously for deeper emotional waters. There is a palpable dread of spinsterhood here, and a keen awareness of how reproving society can be towards older women with younger boyfriends, though whether audiences will accept the lengths to which Kate's supposed friends are driven is another matter.