'Drew Carey Show's' Ferguson Is No Dope

Actor-Filmmaker Teams With Brenda Blethyn In 'Saving Grace'

Although his career has been on fire for the past five years with his role as Drew's boss, Nigel Wick, on "The Drew Carey Show," comic genius Craig Ferguson has found his career this summer going up in smoke.

But unlike the usual connotation associated with that phrase, "up in smoke" is a good thing for Ferguson. In fact, it's more of a Cheech and Chong sort of compliment, born of the accolades that Ferguson is getting for the new marijuana-laced comedy, "Saving Grace," which he co-wrote, co-produced and in which he co-stars.

Directed by Nigel Cole and co-written by Mark Crowdy, "Saving Grace" features the wonderfully talented Brenda Blethyn in the title role of Grace, a middle-aged woman left widowed with an insurmountable mortgage debt because of her late husband's bad business investments.

With nothing more than her gardening skills to call her own, Blethyn unwittingly finds herself helping her mansion's caretaker, Matthew (Ferguson), with some unique "plants" of his own. But Grace is no dope -- she sees the "joint venture" with Matthew as a potential way to get herself out of debt, despite the potential risks on both sides of the law.

"The danger in the marketing of this picture is that people may think it is some kind of dope movie, and it is not," Ferguson told me in a recent interview. "It's a very whimsical, beautiful, gentle picture."

Perhaps what lends the film its most gentle quality is yet another winning performance by Blethyn, an Oscar nominee for both "Secrets & Lies" and "Little Voice." Ferguson says he didn't squander any opportunities to watch, look and listen to Blethyn while they worked together.

"It's kind of like playing tennis with a world champion. You're never going to be as good as them, but your game gets a whole lot better," the Scottish-born actor said. "Your game rises when you're around people like that, and that's part of the trick when you're doing it. You have to surround yourself with experts.

"You have to check your ego at the door and get the best people you can get. And Brenda fits into that category. She's amazing."

High Expectations

Without question, winning the Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival helped "Saving Grace" blossom into a full-blown theatrical release. And while the world-renowned film festival has served as a wonderful springboard for many independent films, Ferguson realizes that there's a danger hidden in all the hype.

"The only thing that frightens me about the Audience Award is that you start raising everybody's expectations to the nth degree," Ferguson said cautiously. "I have to be honest: The release of the film is not my favorite part of a film's life. In fact it's the worst. My friend Michael Radford, who directed 'Il Postino,' said it best: 'The artist does his best, then awaits his punishment.'"

But meeting the expectations of his audience is only one of the judgments that Ferguson is sure to face. There's also the attention that it will draw -- likely negative from those who like jumping to conclusions -- about the portrayal of drug use in the film.

But before you judge the book by its cover, Ferguson wants the audience to know that the film does not endorse drug use. The bottom line about the reality of drug dealing is quite clear.

"The bare bones of the issue in the movie is that (smoking marijuana) is still a crime," Ferguson said.

But that's not to say that Ferguson isn't willing to debate the issue, mainly where the line is drawn between legal and illegal drug use.

"I don't (use) marijuana, or alcohol, for that matter. But I do feel it's strange that alcohol is legal and marijuana isn't," Ferguson said. "And there's a line in the movie that addresses that."

But enough of the downers. Despite the complicated issues surrounding "Saving Grace," the film is, after all, a comedy. And Ferguson got a natural high from making it.

"Some people liken filmmaking like going to war. That's rubbish," he said. "I think filmmaking is a joyful, wonderful job. You learn a huge amount from movies. It's a truly informative experience."

Why Carey Cares

Ferguson knows that his existing notoriety from ABC's "Drew Carey Show" makes his job easier in selling "Saving Grace," and that suits him just fine. Like his stints in the movies, being known as "Drew's boss" is a job title that he loves.

"I think you can tell by watching the show that we have a blast making it," Ferguson said. "We're not taking ourselves very seriously. We're not doing 'The Practice' here. We're just having fun and making money doing it."

Ironically, money was something of a rare commodity among the cast members of the show at the beginning. And while the cast is rolling in it now, Ferguson says it hasn't changed any of them one bit.

"All of us, with the exception of Christa Miller (who plays Kate), were broke when the show started. Drew was sleeping in his car, for God's sake. And now we're all millionaires," Ferguson told me. "It's weird. We're actually closer now than we were at the beginning."

Ferguson said that what he admires about Carey is that he's enormously generous in sharing his wealth. Most recently, the comedian took the entire cast and crew of the sitcom on a weeklong ocean cruise, and footed half of the trip's million-dollar tally.

"We were on the plane coming back when Drew got on the PA system and said, 'You probably think that you owe me for this vacation, but I want you to know that this is only a partial thank you for what you've done for me. You don't owe me. I owe you,'" Ferguson said.

"Everybody on the plane was weeping," Ferguson said. "Drew is an amazingly loyal man, and he inspires it in other people."

DVD Spotlight: 'Jaws' Takes Hold Again

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, Steven Spielberg's thrilling opus "Jaws" is snapping at us again with a special 25th anniversary edition on DVD.

Perhaps what is most amazing about the film is that it has lost none of the bite that terrified audiences in 1975. And that's particularly amazing, considering the high standards that computer-generated visual effects have set for filmmakers of today, including Spielberg himself.

Of course, Spielberg and company did not have digital at their disposal at the time, so the creation of the shark (which is highlighted on the DVD's fascinating documentary) seems all the more incredible.

In addition to the shark, the atmosphere and narrative were tantamount to the success of the film. So it's also great to see interviews with nearly all the major creative forces involved with "Jaws" in the DVD documentary. In addition to talks with Spielberg, writer Peter Benchley, producer Richard Zanuck and stars Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Lorraine Gary (the film's other star, Robert Shaw, died in 1978), Universal Studios dove deep to locate some integral supporting players for interviews.

Perhaps most notable is the shark's first "victim," Susan Backlinie, who reveals what really made her jerk downward in the water in the beginning of the film: It was Spielberg himself, tugging on her leg. Other "behind the scenes" info is provided with the film's production stills and storyboards, and there are deleted scenes from the film and outtakes as well.

The disc's interactive segment includes the "Get Out of the Water!" trivia game and screen saver for DVD-roms.

In all, there are more than 75 minutes of bonus footage on the DVD, which makes it one of the most jam-packed releases this year.

If this is any indication, Spielberg fans have a lot to look forward to with his other long-anticipated titles that are due out on DVD. Next up is the "Jurassic Park" and "The Lost World" two-pack, due in October.

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