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Does anyone else wish there had been more screen time with Mr.Curry?

posted 10 years ago by movienerd666
15 replies | jump to latest

I loved the film over all, but I thought Curry's role could definitely have been extended. In particular, it really feels like he should have shared more scenes with Paddington, in which Paddington accidentally does something to royally p*** him off or just something to really emphasise Curry's distaste. As is, his animosity towards Paddington seems somewhat skimmed over, and as a result it doesn't have as much of a dramatic impact when *SPOILER* he see's the light and helps Paddington in the end.*SPOILER* Plus, Capaldi is perfect for the role, and Curry's aggression and cheap nature is always hilarious, so it felt like a bit of a wasted opportunity for some good set pieces and gags. Mr Gruber also could have been in it more, though his one scene was excellent in my opinion. I hope that if there is a sequel, we'll get to see some more of them.

[–] jschillig 10 years ago

Having leafed through the junior novelization, I was a little surprised myself that they didn't have any "Mr.-Curry-tries-to-get-cheap-labor-out-of-Paddington-and-lives-to-regret-it" scenes.

But I guess they only had so much room and didn't want to overstuff the movie. And it's a bit interesting that Mr. Curry's motive for wanting to get rid of Paddington is a kind of "racism".

Besides, they need to hold something back for the sequel(s). One thing I'd love to see, besides some of the comedic stuff with Mr. Curry, is for them to expand on his character in a way the books never really did.

You see, when you're a kid reading these books, all you see is this mean-tempered middle-aged miser making life difficult for Paddington. When you're older, and know how to read between the lines, and have learned that a lot goes into making people what they are...you start to wonder if a man who has gotten all the way to Notting Hill and still pinches pennies doesn't have some severe poverty in his background. (The kind where his parents sometimes had to decide between food and rent because they couldn't afford both.) You start to think that if a man who's that tight with money bought a family-sized home (it's described as being a duplicate of the Browns'), he must have shared it with someone at one point.

It'd be interesting to start out the movie with Paddington messing things up and Mr. Curry giving him a hard time, and then getting a bit deeper beneath the surface. And Peter Capaldi could do a MARVELOUS job with elements like these. Plus, there are certainly worse messages to give kids than "people are often the way they are for a reason, so don't judge them too quickly."

[–] Krustallos 10 years ago

You start to think that if a man who's that tight with money bought a family-sized home (it's described as being a duplicate of the Browns'), he must have shared it with someone at one point.

Actually he tells Nicole Kidman's character that he inherited it from his mother. It's noticeable that he's much poorer than the Browns. Big house, low income, isolated in a sea of wealthy newcomers.

I used to want to change the world. Now I just want to leave the room with a little dignity.

[–] jschillig 10 years ago

Ah, I see. I was thinking more along the lines of the books. Will have to look out for it when I see it next month...

Now that I research it a bit, it seems Notting Hill was not always a ritzy area and, in fact, had areas that were quite poor.

Still, on the "widower" question...it's tempting to wonder if hard-heartedness like Mr. Curry's could have grown out of loss.

[–] Krustallos 10 years ago

Notting Hill was not always a ritzy area and, in fact, had areas that were quite poor

Yes, it's only quite recently become posh. In the Victorian era the police used to have to patrol in threes, in the 1950's notorious slum landlord Peter Rachman had most of his properties there, and around the time "Paddington" was written this occurred:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Notting_Hill_race_riots

You can also see what the area was like in 1970 (notably bohemian) from this: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066214/

And 1950's photos here: http://tinyurl.com/k739q5w

I used to love the place in the 70's actually. It's a bit sad to see what it's become.

I used to want to change the world. Now I just want to leave the room with a little dignity.

[–] jschillig 10 years ago

Yeah, and if we go with Peter Capaldi's actual age, 1958 is when Mr. Curry was actually born.

(Which leads me to a funny thought about the sliding time scale--or, if you will, Comic Book Time--nature of the Paddington books and the current movie, especially in relation to Mr. Curry's character. When the books began in 1958, assuming Curry's in his fifties or so, he'd have been born at the turn of the century, and lived through, possibly even fought in, two world wars. A stick-in-the-mud, fought-the-war-for-your-sort kind of person...someone who lived before widespread electricity and automobiles, and indeed, in one of the early stories was said to have no electricity, only gas. Whereas the modern-day version of the books and the current movie would have spent his childhood as a witness to Swinging London and the birth of the Beatles! Interesting contrast, no?

Then again, as far as sliding time scales go, I always believed Mr. Gruber was a refugee from Nazi-occupied Europe, but with his age, it's a bit of a tight fit for the modern version of the story even if the movie does establish he was just a child on the Kindertransport.)

[–] Krustallos 10 years ago

Bond based the character on his agent, Harvey Unna, who had escaped Germany just before the war

Yes if Mr Gruber arrived on the Kindertransport he would have to be at least 80, which just about works. Mind you, the Browns are depicted as 70's hippies just prior to the birth of their daughter, who's about 13 in the film, so I think it's wise to be a bit indulgent about timescale....

I used to want to change the world. Now I just want to leave the room with a little dignity.

[–] L0GAN5 10 years ago

Yeah I thought Peter Capaldi was wasted. They definitely could have added an extra ten minutes to the running time and used it to establish an acrimonious relationship between Paddington and Mr Curry. Funny you should bring it up because I pretty much said the same thing to someone after seeing it, that my one criticism was Capaldi's lack of screen time. He's perfectly cast though so it seems a waste. Did he film his scenes before or after taking on Doctor Who? Could make expanding his part difficult for a sequel.

[–] johnkeen_79 10 years ago

I was glad he wasn't used more. As Dr Who he is a giant Ham.

[–] Krustallos 10 years ago

As Dr Who he is a giant Ham.

You're talking about a role generally acknowledged to have reached its apex with Tom Baker.... ;-)

I used to want to change the world. Now I just want to leave the room with a little dignity.

[–] youngian67 10 years ago

A sequel or a TV series. I loved Micael Horden doing Mr Curry in the BBC version, Paddington was always unintentionally getting up his nose for one reason or another.

[–] a_mbow 10 years ago

Yes, I was waiting for him to appear in the final scenes, as he was the one who alerted Mr.Brown that Paddington had been kidnapped. Nothing. Agree Peter Capaldi was absolutely
hilarious!

[–] pmarsh025 10 years ago

I would have loved that. Peter Capaldi is great, love him as The Doctor. He was so perfect in this role. I would love to have got to see Paddington and him hangout. I really hope there's a sequel and Capaldi comes back.

[–] ahrawrah 10 years ago

Yes. His green-themed costumes were hilariously horrible. When he came into a scene with a short-sleeved button-up and an ugly patterened sweater vest, I was cracking up. lolololol. And on a more serious note, his change of heart at the end seemed to be too sudden. Wish he spent more time with Paddington (or Mrs. Brown, who seems to find Paddington to be an alter ego of hers) in order to hate him in a legit way.

[–] IanDSmith 10 years ago

I'm sure this will be more easily worked into a sequel. His having to be tied to Nicole Kidman's plot sidelined him, but things have been freed up enough that we can see the same type of relationship from the books be explored onscreen. Perfect casting though, my goodness.

[–] jschillig 10 years ago

Yeah, I'd originally imagined either John Cleese (in full Basil Fawlty mode) or Hugh Laurie as Mr. Curry, but Peter's perfect. And to think I hadn't heard of him before Doctor Who! 😃