I'm pretty sure I haven't seen Rowan Atkinson in another movie, but I found his mobile facial expressions to be hilarious, as well as much of his speech and farcical physical movement.
This is a four part Christmas film.
Hapless Trevor is being let go from his janitorial (and more) job at a small school, right after the annual Christmas play. A mother is supposed to bring her own baby to lie in the manger during the play, but a baby is dropped off at the school in a basket, which is found by Trevor. That's the baby used in the play, and somehow everyone finishes up and closes things down, leaving the little guy lying in the manger.
Trevor is just closing the door to go home when he hears the baby coo. Thus begins his effort to find the mother of the child, or someone from social services who will come and get the baby proper care.
Everyone in social services his village, and then in London, where he has to go for a house sitting interview, are ready to close down for the holiday, and they don't take any extra care to rescue this little child, or the silly man that Trevor is.
Trevor has a teenage girl with his ex, so he has the basics of baby care in his wheelhouse. He doesn't have access to diapers and baby food for quite awhile, and that little tyke wears the same outfit throughout the film.
He's house sitting for a very wealthy family in a vast apartment so he does some adapting of their things to keep the baby clean and warm. Expensive scarves for diapers, a tea cozy hat.
The family hasn't spent Christmas in the apartment for ten years, but suddenly, they're coming! The housekeeper who takes care of everything knew it would be fine to visit her mom in Scotland, for just the few holiday days, because of this, but then there's a snow storm.
The movie was very funny at times, alarming in the many times the baby was alone and crawling around the apartment.
I thought the baby was a real trooper through it all. It turns out they used two sets of twins in filming, and also AI to produce the patient, sweet, rollicking baby.
Wake Up Dead Man
Detective Benoit Blanc is back with a smooth new hairdo and distinguished beard to solve what he describes several times as "an impossible case".
Father Jud Duplenticy is sent to Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude Church in New York State after punching a fellow priest in an argument.
The church is run by Monsignor Jefferson Wicks. Wicks resents the intrusion of Duplenticy in his parish. The congregation gets smaller and smaller as Wicks uses militancy and old time shaming for anyone new who comes, or who he doesn't have a deep and dark relationship with.
The core group of parishioners also resent Jud, as Wicks seems to offer each of them something they desperately need. Father Jud's talk of hope and forgiveness, and living a good life with love for your enemies isn't wanted.
Wicks dies practically in front of everyone's eyes, but somehow Jud is charged with murder. Blanc enters, and the game is afoot for him, as he digs in to solve what he always does, solve the crime, find the killer.
I loved that mystery writer John Dickson Carr's work was spotlighted. The crime is indeed a locked room mystery, something Carr specialized in.
There is also a scene where the church book group's reading list is uncovered, and they're all murder mysteries.
There are plenty of suspects besides poor Father Jud, and moments where it seemed even Blanc couldn't solve the case.
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