(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Former Frasier star Kelsey Grammer teaches us a few lessons in comedy and finance for his new film Breaking the Bank
Meeting Kelsey Grammer in the flesh is a lot like being introduced to a sports star who played for your favourite team.
Their person embodies so many good memories. They are the physical representation of nights spent around the TV marvelling at their every move. However at the back of your mind you do worry that bringing up those days past once you’re sat down together will create an air of frustration. ‘20 or so people must come to him every day with their stories’ you reason. ‘He must be sick of them.’
As Kelsey walked in to the Mina A’Salam bar where we had our interview scheduled to promote his new film showing at the Dubai International Film Festival Breaking the Bank he was immediately set upon by two ‘selfie hunters’. Despite his obvious tiredness at having landed in Dubai early that morning Kelsey dutifully posed with that trademark smile.
“How many pictures do you think you have to do a day” one of the selfie-ists asked. “It depends where I am but a few” Kelsey diplomatically replied. It was all very genial but at that point I certainly wanted to get in a chat before he was handed the Frasier poster lurking on a nearby table somebody had brought in to be autographed. In actual fact no such fear was necessary as Kelsey explained while describing the reaction to his critically acclaimed political series Boss which wrapped up last year. Yes he will forever be associated with one of the best-loved sitcom characters of all time but is now confident audiences can accept him in any role.
“It was frustrating [after Frasier ended]. It was a conscious decision that it was time to carve out a dynamic shift in what people saw when they saw this face.”
Taking on the character of a fictional no-nonsense mayor of Chicago who had recently been diagnosed with dementia was about as far away from the Crane family as one could get.
“It worked. It was taken in and people said ‘you know I always had a feeling about him.’
“It was pretty well received by the political world! I got a lot of calls from mayors saying ‘wow that is so accurate.’ I was invited to be a speaker of mayors in America.”
Having also taken a walk on the surreal side playing Beast in the X-Men franchise a role he is set to reprise in the future and “really throw some fists” the 59-year old felt it was the right time to return to comedy with Breaking the Bank.
In this British comedy directed by Vadim Jean Kelsey plays Charles Bunbury the bumbling chairman of 200-year-old private bank Tuftons. The only setback is like many bank managers out there responsible for the recent crash he knows nothing about banking. When a rogue trader leaves Tuftons he puts everything on the line in a risky attempt to secure the bank’s future.
“I had a read of the script and saw a character who was charming and a decent fellow just inept.
“I am drawn to characters who start in one place and end up in another. Charles becomes a fuller man. He makes choices that affect his relationships and becomes more capable. He deals with difficult blows throughout and remains ‘stiff upper-lip’ about it.”
Breaking the Bank takes its inspiration from the Ealing Comedies tradition of the forties and fifties. A straightforward plot with excellent comic performances are the order of the day. Was working in a British farce any different to his American experiences
“No it’s not really. You have to put on the right clothes and put on the right sound but it all comes down to the human story in the end.
“The comedy tries to educate as well. We want to show what went wrong [in the banking crisis] and how it goes wrong. You do realise ‘ah that’s how that works.’ Then you think ‘well that’s just stupid.
“You take a whole bunch of cr** loans package them together and sell them as something that’s attractive. It’s incredible. It will happen again unfortunately.”