6.4/10
31,648
176 user 67 critic

A Life Less Ordinary (1997)

R | | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy | 24 October 1997 (UK)
A Life Less Ordinary Poster
Ewan McGregor stars as a cleaning man in Los Angeles, who takes his boss' daughter hostage after being fired and replaced by a robot. Two "angels", who are in charge of human relationships ... See full summary »

Director:

Writer:

Stars:

, , | See full cast & crew »
35
Reviews
1 win & 3 nominations. See more awards »

Photos

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Mayhew
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Frank Kanig ...
Ted
Mel Winkler ...
Frank Naville
Anne Cullimore Decker ...
Violet Eldred Gesteten
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Lily
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Al
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Walt
...
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Storyline

Ewan McGregor stars as a cleaning man in Los Angeles, who takes his boss' daughter hostage after being fired and replaced by a robot. Two "angels", who are in charge of human relationships on Earth, offer some unsolicited help to bring this unlikely couple together. Written by <[email protected]>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

hostage | janitor | angel | heaven | kidnapping | See All (116) »

Taglines:

A twisted love story from the filmmakers of "Trainspotting". See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Fantasy | Romance

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

|

Language:

Release Date:

24 October 1997 (UK)  »

Also Known As:

Une vie moins ordinaire  »

Filming Locations:

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Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,007,279, 26 October 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$4,266,243, 23 November 1997

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,700,000, 9 November 1997
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

, ,  »
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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Delroy Lindo and Timothy Olyphant appeared in Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000). See more »

Goofs

When O'Relly is paying off the hiker/car-jacker, she says "Here's $40." She hands him six bills. The top three are 20s (one of which you can see the bottom of the bill if not its digit in the corner), the next is a 10, then a 5 and on the bottom another 10. $85 in total. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Man: [v.o] So, here's the deal. We are in the garden, right? And everything is great. And there's this tree. And the man says, "Ooh, see that tree? "Don't eat the fruit of that tree. "That apple you do not eat." He goes inside, names some animals - maybe takes a dump. Anyway,what does she do? She eats the apple! I can't believe what I'm seeing! He says, "Don't eat it!" She eats it! Unbelievable! Since then, men,women... I don't know. It's all going wrong!
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Crazy Credits

For the start of the credits, the top half of image contains a wide box (2.35:1?) which runs footage furthering the plotline. Note the film itself was in 1.85:1. See more »

Connections

Remade as Ra Ra Krishnayya (2014) See more »

Soundtracks

Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town
Written by Mel Tillis
Published by PolyGram Music Publishing
Produced by Jon Huck
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User Reviews

 
Nice little Fantasy
15 July 2001 | by – See all my reviews

After the success of Trainspotting (1995), British filmmaking trio, Danny Boyle, John Hodge & Andrew MacDonald made A Life less Ordinary. The film could not be a more different departure from their previous effort. A Life less Ordinary is a wild and sweat natured romantic fantasy, concerning our hero Robert (Ewan McGregor) and spoiled rich girl Celine (Cameron Diaz) and the two angels (Hunter & Lindo) who are given the task of getting them to fall in love. Boyle uses many great cinematic techniques to make the film seem even more fantastic, and Hodges writing is some of the funniest in a long time. Sadly the film does go off the rails somewhat in the last twenty minutes, but it's still an extremely entertaining film, full of bizarre characters and images that makes it one of the most enjoyable two hours you could spend watching a film.

8/10
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