Wacky chaos ensues, as the film veers toward a subplot about industrial espionage, but director Clare Kilner's debut is never as daft as it should have been.
As Janice, Eileen Walsh, an engaging, wide-eyed actress whose teeth are a little too big for her mouth, infuses the movie with much of its slender, glinting charm.
50
Village VoiceEd Park
Village VoiceEd Park
Playful and sentimental, with comic-book characterization and a half-orphaned, filially righteous head case, Janice Beard resembles a British "Amélie."
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Lively acting and an amiable comic atmosphere offer partial compensation for generally lackluster filmmaking.
The plot's contrivances are uncomfortably strained, and ultimately your reaction to its featherweight story of love and serendipity will be determined by how charming you find the dithering, slack-jawed Janice.
38
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
As the story of a romantic office lump, Janice Beard resembles last year's "Bridget Jones's Diary." But it is a far, far lesser thing.