Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed Again
Review: I first encountered this play as an English assignment in high school. Even reading it on the page, I found myself laughing the entire way through. I was thrilled when it became an assignment again in college and when I finally got to see it performed. I was hoping that this movie would capture the fun of the play better then the other, but I was disappointed yet again.The movie keeps the same story as the play. Two men pretend to be named Earnest to get them access to places they couldn't normally go. Both men fall in love and then learn their intended only loves them because of their name. When everyone arrives at a manor in the country, confusion ensues. The problem with this movie comes when the director tries to open up the action. Several scenes that took place in one location in the play are now broken up into multiple locations. The humor comes from the rapid delivery of lines, and breaking up the action actually hampers Wilde's intent. The scenes that play best and did make me laugh were the ones that kept the action in one location so I could get into the flow of the scene. All the actors give fine performances and do their best to overcome the weaknesses of the movie adaptation, but they can't quite do it. Hopefully one day, directors will find a way to fully capture this comedic play when filming it. Until then, I'll stick with print and stage versions.
Rating:
Summary: A parody, not a tribute
Review: This movie version wanders far from the text and the spirit of Oscar Wilde's play. Probably I'm a purist, but the version filmed in 1956 featuring Michael Redgrave and Margaret Rutherford was lots more fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant!!
Review: A very witty and entertaining movie! Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, and Rupert Everett gave memorable performances. The story line's many twists and turns along the way keep you laughing through the whole movie. I definitely recommend this movie to anyone who is sick and tired of the average Romanic Comedies.
Rating: 
Summary: As entertaining as a piece of toast...
Review: I actually found this movie quite tiresome... like watching paint dry or something. The characters were quite annoying, with the logic of five year old children. I sat through the entire movie, hoping against odds that it would improve... however, it did not... in fact, it may have gotten worse. I would not recommend it... the humor was dry, and the pace was slower than a turtle's.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic funny and fun movie!
Review: I loved it! It started out a bit hard to get into, but before long turned hilarious. Colin Firth was fabulous, in fact the ENTIRE cast was wonderful beyond words. I enjoyed the movie very much, more more than I even expected. What an unexpected delight this movie turned out to be.
Rating:
Summary: fun adaptation of Wilde
Review: Writer/director Oliver Parker, who gave us a superb "Othello" in 1995 and a very fine "An Ideal Husband" in 1999, works his magic yet a third time with "The Importance of Being Earnest," a high-spirited adaptation of Oscar Wilde's classic comedy of manners. In adapting the play to the screen, Parker has managed to unshackle the work from its stage confines, allowing the action to occur in many different locales, often out of doors. This expansion of the play's geography gives the plot a certain looseness and forward momentum that nicely complements the lightning-paced nature of Wilde's original dialogue. The theme of the play is, of course, reflected in the name of the work itself, which, in true Wilde fashion, utilizes a clever play on words to make its point. The "earnest" of the title serves a double function, referring to both the importance of honesty, truthfulness and frankness in human relations and to the fact that two men are displaying anything but those virtues when they commandeer the name Ernest as a pseudonym to advance their own selfish causes. It is Algy and Jack, the two main characters of the piece, who learn that there is a high price to be paid for dishonesty and deception, for those two vices routinely lead to the kinds of interpersonal complications and misunderstandings from which it is often hard to extricate oneself. Wilde has fashioned a clever, ingeniously structured plot that employs wit, romance, and gentle social satire to make his point painlessly and effectively. The wonderful cast, which includes Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, Judi Dench, Frances O'Connor, Anna Massey and Edward Fox, does a superb job hitting just the right note in conveying the lighthearted wit of the text. Moreover, the film has been sumptuously shot on location in England and boasts exquisite costumes and set design that beautifully reflect the 19th Century period in which the story is set. "The Importance of Being Earnest" provides both a pleasant diversion for the Wilde aficionado and a fine introduction for those unfamiliar with the author and his works. Mr. Parker is now batting three for three in his moviemaking career and I eagerly await his next endeavor.
Rating: 
Summary: The importance of seeing Colin and Rupert
Review: After viewing the VHS edition of the movie I found it slightly lacking. It goes quickly and is highly entertaining, but I my only tiny criticism was a desire for greater character development. I'll admit to my ignorance: that I didn't realize -- until I read some of these reviews -- that it was a classic English play. Now it all makes sense! Now that I understand this, this is an outstanding adaptation. Of course the cast is what makes this truly exceptional: Colin Firth, Rupert Everett and Dame Judy especially. Extra kudos goes to Reese Witherspoon for stretching her acting chops and pulling off a credible interpretation of a young British woman -- her accent, at least to my ears -- was credible. This is a lighthearted romp that gives insight into roleplaying and class roles within British society...and did I mention Colin Firth and Rupert Everett? Ding-dong!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, hilarious
Review: The Importance of Being Earnest is based on Oscar Wilde's play of the same name. Though toned down, this movie is REAL fun to watch - a treat indeed! The choice of actors (and actresses) was to say the least - perfect! Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, Frances O'Connor, Judi Dench all played their roles to perfection. Packed with all the witticism (and sarcasm), this movie will engage you thoroughly. Hilarious!
Rating:
Summary: 'Adaptation' is right
Review: I have to say I had high expectations for this movie, & was sorely disappointed by the entire thing. In fact, I was very tempted at several points during the movie to walk out. Where to begin? Witherspoon is too old for the character. More important, anyone who thinks their dialogue is better than Wilde's should simply have written their own entire script. Some of the best lines of this play were cut completely, in most scenes, the timing was wrong. Trying to expand the backdrops for scenes was also, imo, a huge mistake (ie, instead of sticking to the interiors of the play, the boys go to a 'gentleman's club' & Gwendolyn goes to a tattoo parlour, for heaven's sake!)
Bad. The whole thing was bad, the timing was *much* too slow, etc., etc.,etc. Even Dame Judi couldn't save this bloater, & I love her work.
Ok, so I'm used to this play *as a play*, onstage, not messing around with any additional cutsey dialogue. But lord, it wasn't good.
Rating:
Summary: I am not Wilde about all of the changes in the classic play
Review: "The Importance of Being Earnest" is a film where if you do not know the play (which earns five stars), then you would give this movie four stars but if you do it gets only three. Both the strengths and the weaknesses of this adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play can be laid at the feet of writer-director Oliver Parker, who attempts to make the 19th-century comedy more palatable to a 21st-century audience. The result can be aptly characterized as one step forward, two steps back. Parker adds a sense of energy to the interactions of these sedate Victorian characters (there is, believe it or not, hugging in this film between gentlemen), which tends to work against the ideal delivery of Wilde's dry witticisms. On the one hand the addition of a minor sub-plot involving paying an outstanding bill at a London establishment adds to the general sense of confusing regarding Earnest/John/Algy, which aptly fits the skewed way in which the truth functions in this story. But then Parker decides to add his own joke at the end which totally negates the principle that makes this all work out in the end (I was going to give the film four stars until that point). Similarly, the quick flashback into how Aunt Augusta met and won Lord Bracknell is nothing more than a cheap laugh because it "truth" defies all reason regarding the workings of the British upper class, especially during the Victorian Era. Parker does nicely expand the idea of little Cecily and her fantasy world represented by her dairy and her habit of writing love letters to herself, in terms of her idealized visions of knightly romance. But while the idea of the servants sitting around playing assorted musical instruments in the kitchen was funny, having John and Algernon serenading Cecily and Gwendolyn on piano and guitar seems a bit forced. Again, I acknowledge the probability that only those who are familiar with the play and who recognize these changes as changes. The cast does its best work with Wilde's original material. Colin Firth (Jack) first impressed me as the only Mr. Darcy I have seen in "Pride & Prejudice" who managed to make the transition from being proud to being human. Rupert Everett (Algy) should have at least received as Oscar nomination for stealing every scene he had in "My Best Friend's Wedding." Judy Dench (Lady Bracknell) is as professional an actress as we have today; I always think of the scene in "Shakespeare in Love" when Gwyneth Paltrow is about to curtsey instead of bow and Queen Elizabeth just makes her pupil dilate to convey a message. Her interview scene with Jack best preserves Wilde's original play. Reese Witherspoon (Cecily) holds her own with the English cast and gets points for tackling Wilde. Frances O'Connor (Gwendolyn) is the relative newcomer of the cast, but the fact she had a title role in a BBC production of "Madame Bovary" is a good sign. Tom Wilkinson is rather wasted as Dr. Chasuble, but it is nice to see a familiar face, as is the case with Edward Fox who nails his too few lines as Lane. Anna Massey as Miss Prism completes the main cast and provides the key piece to the big puzzle. Ironically, I enjoyed "An Ideal Husband," Parker's earlier screen adaptation of Wilde play, and was going to suggest it as a better example of the work of Oscar Wilde. However, I had never seen or read that particular play, so for all I know Parker took as many liberties with that one as he does with "The Importance of Being Earnest." At least there is an attempt at something of an Oscar Wilde revival, which is something that is necessary every generation. While biopics like "Wilde" are good, there is no substitute for exposure to the plays themselves, even in these altered forms.
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