The Importance of Being Earnest

Rating:
Summary: Not at all Important, but a lot of fun
Review: My memories of reading The Importance of Being Earnest are unpleasant to say the least, but I decided to give the movie version a chance (the casting held a certain appeal), and was not disappointed in the slightest.

Truly a play about nothing, the only difficulty I encountered was in hearing some of the lines after the theater had erupted in laughter.

Judi Dench is a delight to watch as a mercenary member of society. Concerned with her daughter and nephew marrying well, she is granted some of the best lines in the film:

"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune, Mr Worthing. To lose both seems like carelessness."

"To speak frankly, I am not in favour of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other's character before marriage, which I think is never advisable."

The rest of the cast also does an admirable job, appearing to relish both their roles and the superb dialogue. They jumped into the inherent silliness of the characters, and were unihibited during the requisite prat-falls and embarrassments.

...

I definitely reccomend this entertaining film, which is, as Oscar Wilde wrote, "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People."

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Film Version of Oscar Wilde's Funniest Work
Review: I consider THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST to be the funniest play in the English language, and the greatest comedy in the language not written by William Shakespeare. The play contains one hysterical line after another, and one brilliant comic situation after another. For anyone who has not seen or read the play, this movie version will be a very excellent introduction to it.

The cast is superb, and could hardly have been improved upon among today's actors and actresses. Colin Firth is a natural to play Jack Worthing AKA Ernest, and Rupert Everett is utterly perfect as Algernon. Frances O'Connor, upon whom I must confess I have a gigantic crush, plays Gwendolyn, and Reese Witherspoon does a superb job portraying a young Englishwoman. Judi Dench hands in yet another strong performance as Lady Bracknell. The performances of all of these performers are completely satisfying.

Nevertheless, the movie fails to be the definitive film version of Wilde's play. There are two reasons for this. The first is the presence of an earlier, stronger film. The second is a series of bad decisions made in the making of this film. Taking the second point first, this new film makes a number of embellishments and alterations in the Wilde play, most of which are not very successful and are more than a little distracting. For instance, much of the first scene of the play is relocated in a number of locations, including a brothel, instead of Algernon's lodgings. Instead of arriving at Jack Worthing's country estate by rail, Algernon arrives by hot air balloon (!) and Gwendolyn arrives by motorcar. There are a number of scenes in which Cecily imagines knights and nymphs that are quite grating. And, worst of all, Gwendolyn has "Ernest" tattooed on her buttocks, a rather absurd addition. None of these make the movie more enjoyable, and primarily serve as distractions. There are also several scenes with creditors chasing Algernon, attempting to collect debts. All could have been deleted and we would have been left with a stronger and more interesting movie.

The first mentioned obstacle to this becoming the definitive screen version is the 1952 film directed by Anthony Asquith. As good as the current cast is, the prior cast was, with only one exception, much stronger. Michael Redgrave was, I have to admit, a much better Jack Worthing than Colin Firth. And while I adore Frances O'Connor, Joan Greenwood was probably the best Gwendolyn one could possibly imagine. Anyone doubting this should do a line-by-line comparison between the two performances. Take just one line, when Gwendolyn says, "I have the gravest doubts upon the subject. But I intend to crush them." O'Connor delivers the line excellently, but Greenwood, with her magnificent, deep, rich, plummy voice stretches the line out magnificently, caressing every syllable. Rupert Everett surpasses the performance of Michael Dennison as Algernon, and Reese Witherspoon comes close to matching Dorothy Tutin as Cecily, but not even the great Judi Dench can come close to Dame Edith Evans extraordinary performance as Lady Bracknell. The 1952 version also featured the inimitable and unforgettable Margaret Rutherford as Miss Prism and Miles Malleson as Rev. Chasuble.

The one way in which the newer film surpasses the earlier film is in making the entire affair feel more like a film than a filmed play. As fine as the Redgrave-Greenwood version was, it was pretty much a straight filming of the play, with very little in the way of deviation or departure. The new film makes considerable effort to be more dynamic visually and to break up the scenes so that it isn't transparently Act One and Act Two and so forth.

I heartily recommend this new version of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, but I would also very strongly urge any lover of the play or this new film to seek out the earlier film. It may be more stagy and static, but the performances make it the definitive film version of this great play.

Rating:
Summary: Earnest!
Review: Although a farce is no longer what we are used to, we get into the swing of it about a third of the way through and then begin to enjoy the utter silliness till the neat and perfect ending.

I have already bought the soundtrack. I'm playing it over and over, laughing.

Colin Firth, of course, is to die for. Rupert is gorgeous as usual and both Reese and Frances are perfectly cast. The English countryside makes one sigh with each broad framing and the clothes are more than heavenly.

I shall see it several more times before the video becomes available.

Rating:
Summary: How to squash a souffle
Review: Oscar Wilde's masterful triumph of style over substance still makes audiences laugh because the timing and pace are perfect as written. This film has padded the story line, presumably to make the movie more visually interesting, but it's like taking a perfect souffle from the oven and pouring a pint of chocolate sauce, a pound of nuts and a gallon of whipped cream over it. The only time this film works, despite the best efforts of the performers, is when it lets the original dialogue flow, however briefly. At times the rewriting gets downright silly, as when Gwendolyn drives herself to Jack's country home, then talks about missing trains back to London. And she's hardly the kind of girl who get's her boyfriend's name tattoed on her buttocks.

It's pretty to look at, but not nearly as much fun as it should have been.

Rating:
Summary: The Importance of Sticking to the Play
Review: I went to see this with my boyfriend. In high school, his class had attempted to perform the play and he was the understudy for all of the main male characters. He said he fell in love with the play, even though they didn't get to perform it after all.

So we went to see it when it came out. I'd never read the play or seen it, but my goodness, I fell in love with it as I watched it. Each of the actors and actresses were absolutly wonderful in their portrayal of the character. I was most impressed with the movie, and almost couldn't stop giggling at one thing or another. I can't wait until this comes out in VHS or DVD, because I'll but a copy in a minute. My boyfriend was delighted that they stuck closely to the play.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Old Fashioned Delightful Comedy of Manors!
Review: Exceptionally clever, the language is so very witty. Rupert Everett is his usual, whisper under his breath, dry humored self. Colin Firth is his usual gorgeous self mixed in with bits of dry humor. I have not read the book this movie is based on so I cannot comment on how close it stays true, but I did enjoy this storyline. Love the Special Features on this dvd, Behind the scenes and The Making of TIOBE show us lots of extras.

Rating:
Summary: A Must See for the CF fan.
Review: I loved this movie, CF and RE play so well off each other. Gloriously Funny the movie starts and gets right to it. I was laughing and giggling all the way through it. Can't wait for the dvd.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed thoughts
Review: This movie's main strength lies in its cast of talented actors. Other than that, I found it to be fairly flimsy. The alterations made to Oscar Wilde's play for the purposes of adaptation do not add much; in fact I think they detract, often making the story feel strange and even a bit rushed at times.

That said, the story is still a funny one, and the actors do a nice job. Colin Firth (beauty-ful as always) is great as Jack a.k.a. Earnest, and is especially funny during a few different scenes where he becomes embarrassed about something or other. Frances O'Connor seemed very appealing as Gwendolen, although she didn't have a whole lot to do in this movie and I plan to watch her in "Mansfield Park".

Rupert Everett seemed a good choice for Algernon if a bit of a bland one. I think the same is true for Reese Witherspoon as Cecily, though kudos must be given to her for doing such a good British accent. Judi Dench is wonderful (as always) as Lady Bracknell. Anna Massey is a great Miss Prism and the same goes for Tom Wilkinson (who seems to appear in everything at some point or other!) as Dr. Chazzuble. (Apologies for the spelling - I haven't read the play in some time.)

To sum up: It's enjoyable if not fantastic, and if - like me - you're a Colin Firth fan, you'll enjoy it anyway.

Rating:
Summary: a treat
Review: I haven't seen the 1952 version of Earnest, but I must say that I love this one. I laughed the whole way through. Purists might say that the dialogue goes too slowly, that the acting was underdone, or that Reese Witherspoon was miscast. My opinion: the dialogue is, of course, brilliant. It's Oscar Wilde. It is also delivered wonderfully, with perfect expressions that make the witty lines even more funny. Attention is, at times, required to catch these little expressions, but they are what help make the film so great. Also: I loved the casting. I loved it the first time I saw the film. I appreciate the casting even more now that I've read the actual play--the actors portray the characters exceptionally well, with all the quirks and nuances that I gleaned from the book. The add-ins (like the knight in Cecily's daydreams) make the movie, in my opinion, even more delightful. It should be quirky, and, thank goodness, it is. I highly recommend this film--it is a very well-done, lighthearted story full of wit. I definitely enjoyed it.

Rating:
Summary: GOOD except some...
Review: Brilliant, lovely, impeccable casting by the entire Oliver Parker's production team. Almost perfect performances by GORGEOUS actors and actresses upon beautiful costumes design, greenest of the countryside, and exquisite interior decorations. This Oscar Wilde adaption will no doubt remain timeless for the next three decades at least before another remake emerges in Hollywood.

Everything's so agreeable except Reese Witherspoon's cast here... Parker must have been mistaken for Christ sake! Witherspoon is so NOT right for the choice. Her indifferent beauty and bubbly profile are totally incompatible with the rest of the casts - who has got the lordly Englishness. She plays the "ward" of Jack Worthing (Colin Firth) who's kept and schooled in his country house, no wonder.