Greenfingers is not unlike most comedies imported from Great Britain over the last few years.  It's extremely likeable, short, predictable, heartwarming and ultimately empty, although you don't realize the latter until several days later (see Saving Grace, Waking Ned Devine, The Full Monty, etc.). Most Brit-com success rests entirely on the shoulders of its stars, and Greenfingers is certainly no different, boasting the well-respected Helen Mirren and Croupier's Clive Owen.

Greenfingers begins by letting us know the film was "inspired by actual events," via a 1998 New York Times article called "Free To Grow Bluebells in England."  Owen plays Colin Briggs, a convicted murderer who has just been transferred to the minimum-security HMP Edgefield to serve out the tail-end of a long sentence.  Although Edgefield is a bit more relaxed as far as prisons go, Colin is still on edge and keeps to himself.  In other words, he's the opposite of his roommate, Fergus (David Kelly, Waking Ned Devine), who is elderly, ailing and knows he'll soon die in prison (he killed three wives).

The story starts to take off when Fergus gives Colin a packet of violet seeds for Christmas.  Colin begrudgingly plants them into a patch of hard, barren earth, and is taken aback when the little buggers start to grow. When the progressive prison warden (Warren Clarke, Blow Dry) sees the lovely flowers, he decides to let Colin and Fergus start their own horticulture club.  Their group takes on three additional members: murderers Jimmy (Paterson Joseph, The Beach) and Raw (Adam Fogerty, Snatch), and armed robber Tony (Danny Dyer).  The men seem interested in gardening only to increase their chances of being paroled early.

As Edgefield's first garden begins to take shape, the prisoners attract the attention of Georgina Woodhouse (Mirren, The Pledge), who is to British gardening what Ron Jeremy is to pornography.  Georgina is impressed by Colin and company, and decides to sponsor them in the highly competitive Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.  Their exposure increases, and Colin even gets a love interest in Georgina's lovely daughter, the aptly named Primrose (Natasha Little).

Writer/director Joel Hershman (Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me) does well to keep viewers interested in the film, but it all comes down to a bunch of hard-edged prisoners blossoming like little flowers (gag!).  I'm not saying Greenfingers is bad – it's actually quite entertaining – but there just isn't much to it.

1:31 –

for some language and sexuality