A real estate executive discovers her great-uncle has passed away and left her a property in England that she wants to sell in order to buy her own office.
Starring: Spencer Locke and Charlie Clapham
Image: Great American Media
My Movie Grade: C+
Where Was The English Estate Filmed?
Although the movie's setting is Willowvale, a small, fictional town situated in the English village of Moorchester, the gorgeous mansion featured is actually nestled on a slope of California's Santa Cruz Mountains.
The house was built for William Bowers Bourn II and his wife in 1917, and it features 54,000-square feet of Georgian revival-style architecture on a 654-acre property. The English Renaissance gardens encompass 16 of those acres.
How did the Bourns acquire enough funds to build such an opulent estate? Bourn was the heir of the Empire Mine gold fortune.
Bourn named the estate Filoli, a unique combination of the first two letters of his personal mantra:
Fight for a just cause.
Love your fellow man.
Live a good life.
The estate was purchased in 1936 by William and Lurline Roth who turned it over to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1975. The estate is open to the public for tours and is an exquisite venue for weddings, celebrations, corporate meetings, and filming and photography projects.
The most notable program to be filmed at Filoli was the 1980s hit, Dynasty.
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The English Estate Features a Real-Life Couple
Many Great American Family fans tuned in to watch Juliet Mills and Maxwell Caulfield, two veteran actors who have starred in slews of memorable movies and TV shows over the decades. Mills, the sister of Haley Mills (The Parent Trap and Pollyanna) may be most loved for her role in the 1970s sitcom, The Nanny and the Professor.
Caulfield's acting resumé is also quite extensive, though he is best remembered for starring in Grease 2 and Dynasty.
Did you know that Mills and Caulfield are also a real-life couple? The two married in 1980, and it raised eyebrows at the time because Mills is 18 years his senior.
Image: Great American Media
What is The English Estate About?
Nora Cartwright is running a business out of her apartment and has found the perfect space for an office, but she only has a week to secure the necessary funds to rent it.
Nora receives a call from attorney, Nigel Miller, informing her that her great-uncle, Edmond Charles, has passed away and has willed her his estate.
Nora quickly hops a flight to England, fully intending to sell the estate immediately so she can secure the funds for her new office space in the U.S. What she doesn't expect is to meet Jamie Allen, the man who has been living at Willowvale Manor for most of his life, who has loved Edmond like his own family, and who is now responsible for keeping her great-uncle's furniture company afloat.
Jamie and Nora find themselves at odds with each other. She wants to sell the estate and all of its renowned furniture pieces despite the property being in her family for over 300 years, but Jamie does not. The furniture belongs to him and is his personal insurance policy if the business goes under.
Image: Great American Media
As the two spend more time together outside of the office, they find they have more in common than they realized. Conflict arises, however, when they tentatively forge a business partnership, but Nora makes decisions without consulting Jamie. When Nora's ex-boyfriend shows up unexpectedly, Jamie decides to sell his furniture designs to a London-based company and move there to become a staff accountant.
Nora heads Jamie off at the train station and surprises him when she announces her plans to remain at Willowvale Manor and run her business from England, with him as her partner, butler, and chief tea maker.
Locke and Clapham Give Ho-Hum Performances in The English Estate
Spencer Locke has starred in numerous B-rated horror films, and there's an obvious reason for this: she stinks as an actress.
In addition to his sporadic acting, Charlie Clapham works in his family's tattoo, piercing, and jewelry shop in England--'nuff said.
The chemistry with this onscreen couple starts out at a big, fat ZERO at the beginning of the movie but does improve as the film progresses.
The most ridiculous scene from the movie is when Nora's friend and business partner, Amelia, suggests that Nora work on improving the outside of the estate to entice buyers, since no one will make an offer when they see how much work needs done inside. Even though she only has a partial day or two to work on the grounds, we're supposed to believe she can make a dent in the job on her own? In real-life, the 16-acres of gardens employ 14 full-time horticulturists, but sure, Nora can get it all done in a snap by herself.
Image: Great American Media
Jamie has lived at Willowvale most of his life, but when he decides to bolt, all of his belongings can be condensed to one small suitcase, which he can carry on his walk to the train.
Nora breaks up with Daniel before she learns of her inheritance, and there's no indication that communication between the two has continued. YET, Daniel appears on her doorstep in England. How does he know she is even there? Instead of sending him away with the reminder that the relationship is over (and then explaining the situation to Jamie), Nora's solution is to whisk Daniel out on what looks like a date?
Why didn't Edmond will his estate to Jamie? He gave Jamie the furniture business, but maybe to honor the family legacy he felt compelled to bequeath the rest to his closest living relative? Since Jamie was like family to Edmond and took care of him when he was sick, it seems he should have been the beneficiary over someone in another country who had never even spoken to him.
One redeeming moment between the couple is during the final wedding scene. Rom-coms typically rush this part, but we are treated to an extended view of the ceremony. Reading the letter from her uncle as her wedding vow is a nice touch, especially since we're left wondering the entire movie what message the letter contains. The scene ends with Nora joking that she still doesn't like English beans on toast for breakfast--who can blame her?
My Favorite Line from The English Estate
Viewers discover that Mary (Juliet Mills), who owns The Whale and Ale, dated Edmond for many years. Nora is perplexed that the couple never married, but Mary explains how consumed each of them had been by their respective businesses.
Mary says, We always thought there'd be plenty of time until there wasn't.
Life is short. This line is a good reminder to make sure the people we love, not things, remain our top priority.
Despite the interesting plot and strong supporting cast members, The English Estate is a mediocre movie, though it is still worth watching once.
If you haven't seen the movie yet, you can check out the trailer below.
I totally disagree.
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