Village Voice review Justify Your Existence by Jessica Winter Subtitled "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People," The Importance of Being Earnest is Oscar Wilde's airiest confection, a bite-sized meringue delectable with melt-in-your-mouth epigrams. Though its tart center tastes of class resentment and the exhaustion of necessary dissimulation, the play draws the sweetest of conclusions�namely, that self-invention is a natural phenomenon, and worthy of celebration. Winkingly focused on a pair of bachelor dandies juggling double identities, Wilde's drawing-room farce was also something of a cryptogram, and it happened to debut on the London stage the same year the writer's own design for living was so cruelly condemned. Earnest triumphantly opened in February 1895 and sheepishly closed in May, during Wilde's trials for "gross indecency"; weeks later, he entered Reading Gaol, and never wrote another work for the stage. For Oliver Parker, the importance of adapting Earnest lies in the text�not the context, and certainly not the subtext. Much like his previous Oscar screener, An Ideal Husband, Parker's rendition�the first production to be released under the Ealing Studios banner in 57 years�is a proficient skim of the Man With the Green Carnation's wit and wisdom, piped by an able crew of quick-tongued ventriloquists. (The hits don't quit: "To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune . . . to lose both seems like carelessness." "In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing." "All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. . . . No man does. That is his.") Jack (Colin Firth) maintains separate personae in town and country, as does his friend Algy (Rupert Everett), a form of social compartmentalizing that the latter curiously dubs "Bunburying." (The Bunburyist's predilections are left unspecified in the play; the film pegs them as cigarettes and cancan dancers.) In the guise of is alter ego, "Ernest," Jack is smitten with Algy's horny cousin, Gwendolen (Frances O'Connor), while Algy, appropriating the Ernest mantle for himself, falls for his buddy's bright-eyed ward, Cecily (Reese Witherspoon). The women become rivals, then allies when they discover their mutual entanglement with lovers that dare not speak their names. Parker pads Earnest's avowedly slight figure with fantasy sequences, flashbacks, chase scenes, even an ill-fated trip to the tattoo parlor, and the stuffing shows. Indeed, for a handsomely financed Miramax production, the movie is ribboned with crooked seams: muddy sound, glaring continuity errors, a mischievous boom mic, Everett's suddenly AWOL mustache. Though Parker ranges far from the the play's series of confined spaces, there's no visual wit or blocking savvy�surely no one was minding the bakery when a comically foolproof contretemps between Jack and nervous eater Algy entailing 12 invocations of the word "muffins" was allowed to collapse on the screen like a traumatized cake. Tonally, however, Earnest boasts perfect pitch, thanks mainly to the blithe, nimble actors. Everett and Firth's ruefully affectionate, roughhousing chemistry feels decades lived-in (actually, they co-starred as fellow Marxist misfits in Another Country nearly 20 years ago), Witherspoon's matter-of-fact daftness keeps daydreamy Cecily tethered to earth, and you will know Judi Dench by the trail of dead (as imperious Lady Bracknell, the mother of all mothers). Parker's Earnest certainly doesn't get in Wilde's way, but neither does it justify its own existence�what's the point of a mere face-value appropriation? Shakespeare gets a cine-update every other week, so isn't Oscar Wilde ready for his 21st-century close-up?

New York Observer review �Ernest� Tattooed On Her Bum by Rex Reed Whatever they�re saying, chances are Oscar Wilde said it first. Strangely, he didn�t say much in The Importance of Being Earnest, his most popular and enduring comedy, and a lot of what he did say is regretfully missing from the glossy new movie version by Oliver Parker, the same writer-director who put a fresh coat of varnish on Wilde�s An Ideal Husband. Despite the many liberties he takes to adapt Wilde�s arch style and dialogue to a movie for mass consumption, the delicious cast and a lot of cinematic "opening up" (gilt-edged theaters, posh caf�s, jazzy music, the lush green English countryside and even a tattoo parlor!) conspire to turn a classic Victorian drawing-room comedy of manners into an enjoyable romp. Alas, it still pales in comparison to Anthony Asquith�s famous 1952 film version. Purists will insist that Mr. Asquith�s dry, stagy, eccentric but riotous film was the definitive one. Mr. Parker�s spin is so busy that it assumes a chirpy tempo of its own, more in keeping with the demands of modern audiences, but it loses a lot of the wit, attitude and elegance of Wilde�s subtle mastery of the language. And no matter how hard they try to knock themselves out being frisky and charming, the new cast can�t hold a candle to Michael Redgrave, Joan Greenwood, Dorothy Tutin, Michael Denison, Margaret Rutherford and especially Dame Edith Evans� titanic aria as the maddeningly eccentric Lady Bracknell. Still, let us leave that landmark film in its resting place, preserved in memory and on the shelves of video stores, and concentrate on the 2002 remake. It offers pleasures of its own. Say what? Despite numerous Broadway revivals and even a musical version called Ernest in Love, you don�t remember what The Importance of Being Earnest is about? Utter silliness, that�s what. The fanciful plot�which even in 1895 gave new meaning to the word "contrived"�is a farce concerning two dashing, irresponsible London bachelors who both assume the name Ernest to woo the objects of their confused affections. Country squire Jack Worthing (Colin Firth) seeks the hand of the genteel but impulsive Gwendolen (Frances O�Connor) and comes to town to propose, but since she has always been attracted to the virility of the name Ernest, he passes himself off as a fictitious younger brother of the same name. Meanwhile, his arrogant, vain, extravagant cad of a pal, Algernon Moncrieff (Rupert Everett), also posing as Jack�s brother Ernest, heads for the country to romance Jack�s 18-year-old ward Cecily (Reese Witherspoon, with a brilliant and unaffected British accent that never falters). Clearly it�s impossible for hem to be in the same place at the same time. They can�t both be Ernest, although both ladies mistakenly think they�re engaged to the same man. A high point of the film occurs when the willful Gwendolen and the angelic Cecily pool their feminine wiles to bring their men to heel. Meanwhile, the delicate sauce of a plot thickens to pudding when the imperious Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen�s mother and Algernon�s aunt, dismisses Jack as a suitable candidate for her daughter�s hand because he was a foundling abandoned as an infant in a handbag in Victoria Station. When everyone descends unexpectedly upon Jack�s country manor, mistaken identities are revealed, scandals erupt and chaos ensues. The mystery of Jack�s birth is also solved, but not before Judi Dench�s Lady Bracknell�precise, intolerant, and snobbish to the manner born�has a cherished moment of regal hilarity when she looks down her nose and declares, "To lose one parent � may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." She is fine, and God knows she can act, but to hear Dame Edith Evans say that same line in the 1952 film is to feel suddenly the full impact of Oscar Wilde�s treacherous wit and wisdom, and the weight, too, of Victorian class-consciousness, circa 1895. There are splendid turns by Anna Massey as Cecily�s pickled tutor Miss Prism, Edward Fox as Algernon�s long-suffering, underpaid butler, and Tom Wilkinson as the local rector who timidly pursues the sullen Miss Prism. What a tribute to his diversity and range. Curiously, Mr. Wilkinson also appeared as the beastly, violent, homophobic Marquess of Queensberry, who was responsible for Oscar Wilde�s downfall and imprisonment for "gross indecency," in the excellent biopic Wilde. Now he�s here playing one of Wilde�s shy little subsidiary characters with an amour fou of his own. Wilde might have enjoyed the newfangled camera work and even the jazz duet performed by Mr. Firth and Mr. Everett (unnecessary to the plot and utterly anachronistic), but I doubt he would have approved of the added bit where the ladylike Gwendolen has "Ernest" tattooed on her bum. Oscar Wilde aimed for truth over illusions. The eye candy in Oliver Parker�s version seems to favor style over sincerity. The film is a fragile frolic, but the real theme enjoyed by countless audiences through the years�the importance of being earnest instead of deceitful in matters of the heart�still shines through the frosting.

It offers pleasures of its own. And I intend to enjoy everyone of them. Cheers!

I'm so confused about this movie. I'm to the point (actually was there days ago) where I can't read another review. I swear the critics are willfully trying to confuse the public regarding this film. Can't take it anymore! Will concentrate on ODB's personal appearances :) !!!! BTW, saw Episode 2 last night, & have realized how lost I am to P&P. ****SPOILER ALERT**** Anakin goes back to Tatooine (sp?) b/c he feels his mother is in danger. Upon arriving he learns that his mother has been kidnapped by some bad guys. So what do I immediately expect to hear next? "What's being done to recover them?"!! **Sigh** I am SO far gone.....

New York Post review CRAWL OF WILDE By JONATHAN FOREMAN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- May 22, 2002 -- OSCAR Wilde's masterpiece, "The Importance of Being Earnest," may be the best play of the 19th century.It's so good that its relentless, polished wit can withstand not only inept school productions, but even Oliver Parker's movie adaptation. Writer-director Parker inflicts far more damage here than with his entertaining 1999 version of Wilde's "An Ideal Husband," starring Cate Blanchett and Julianne Moore. Partly, this is a matter of disastrous casting. In the key role of Algernon, the preening, charmless Rupert Everett fails to move his upper lip enough to enunciate. He swallows, mumbles or otherwise destroys line after brilliant line. Parker also mishandles "Earnest" by trying to add action and visual scope, throwing a wrench into the play's rapid rhythms and threatening to turn it into a lame farce. The tedious process begins with the introductions of Algernon, an upper-class man about London first seen running from thuggish creditors, and his friend Jack (Colin Firth), who has come down from the country to get engaged. As they take tea, Algernon discovers that his friend has been leading a double life. In London, he is called Ernest; but in the country, everyone knows him as Jack, a serious fellow burdened by a rascally younger brother named Ernest. Algernon himself has invented a character named Bunbury, an ailing friend whom he uses as an excuse to avoid social obligations. These inventions have always worked well for the two young men. But when Jack/Ernest proposes to blue-blooded Gwendolyn (Frances O'Connor), and Algernon turns up at Jack's country house pretending to be Ernest and falls for Jack's ward, Cecily (Reese Witherspoon), things start to get complicated. Witherspoon pulls off a perfectly adequate accent and captures Cecily's combination of ingenuousness and candor. O'Connor more than redeems herself after "Bedazzled," investing the worldly Gwendolyn with a confident sexuality. Firth is fine as Jack, and you can hardly do better than Judi Dench as the snobbish Lady Bracknell. Unfortunately, Anna Massey and Tom Wilkinson go over the top in their roles as the prim governess and shy chaplain. Some of Parker's additions - hot-air balloons, anachronistic early automobiles and ragtime music - do no real harm. But the tattoo parlor, the hooker-infested dance hall - a labored effort to illustrate Victorian sexual hypocrisy, as if the play's dialogue didn't already do that exquisitely - miss the point that the play is supposed to be merely brilliant surface. Fortunately, enough of that brilliance shines through to make even this compromised "Earnest" a comic delight.

New York Daily News review Wilde's Comedy of Era scar Wilde's late comedy "The Importance of Being Earnest" was first adapted on film 50 years ago, but the jaunty new version by Oliver Parker more closely resembles � in spirit, at least � Woody Allen's "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy." That minor 1982 Allen film, for which the Woodman was accused of besmirching both Shakespeare and his idol, Ingmar Bergman, follows a trio of dysfunctional couples at a woodsy New England farmhouse. The characters' various states of sexual agitation and confusion feed Allen's facile gag-writing impulses. "The Importance of Being Earnest" places its major characters � two gentlemen and two ripe young ladies eagerly responding to their fumbling courtships � at a country estate, where they feed Wilde's equally unique verbal wit. But, bound by the mores of the Victorian era in which it was written, "Earnest" keeps its sexual ardors under the starched collars of Jack Worthing (Colin Firth) and Algernon Moncrieff (Rupert Everett), and beneath the bodices of Gwendolen Fairfax (Frances O'Connor) and Cecily Cardew (Reese Witherspoon). It is, nonetheless, very sensual, and a far more modern thing than Wilde could have imagined. Parker has not so much opened up the play as he has aired it out. The movie opens with the ne'er-do-well dandy Algernon plinking ragtime on a piano, and soon moves into the airy expanse of the country, where he and Jack and the two ladies carry on their comic dance. The story's running joke is that Jack, who enjoys genuine wealth, and Algernon, a freeloading debtor, each have invented imaginary characters as social conveniences. Jack assumes the identity of a nonexistent older brother named Earnest for his social forays into London, while Algie uses the made-up invalid friend Bunbury as an excuse to avoid such nuisances as receptions arranged by Lady Bracknell (Judi Dench), his stuffy aunt. Now, pay close attention. Trouble brews when Jack, in the role of Earnest, falls in love with Lady Bracknell's daughter Gwendolen, who is so enamored of his assumed name that she has it tattooed on her derriere. Meanwhile, Jack's young ward, Cecily, also has become infatuated with the idea of Earnest, as described by Jack, and when Algie shows up at the estate claiming to be Earnest, Cecily immediately falls in love with him. At this point, there are two women in love with Earnest Worthing, who is actually two different men, neither one of whom is really Earnest Worthing, though both are earnest and at least one is worthy, if you get Wilde's drift. Written to skewer the upper class of its time, the script is now just a broad joke-fest, clever lines batted back and forth like badminton shuttlecocks. To that extent, it's dependent on the play of its cast, and Parker has done well by his ensemble. Firth, with a certain starch in his manner, is perfect as the vulnerable, love-struck Jack, while Everett's late-blooming comedy skills suit the winsome loser Algie. O'Connor and Witherspoon, managing an acceptable upper-crust accent, are ably ardent, and the reliable Dench makes the greedy crab apple Lady Bracknell a villainess with mitigating heart. Important, "Earnest" is not, but if you're looking for a break from the popcorn features dominating theaters, you may find it worthy. Original Publication Date: 5/22/02

From TV Guide Online. Check the URL too, because there's a sweet pic that I don't think we've seen before: http://www.tvguide.com/newsgroup/insider/020522b.asp Colin Firth Sings in Earnest Wednesday, May 22, 2002 Attempting to woo his beloved in The Importance of Being Earnest � opening Friday � Colin Firth's character serenades her. Of course, we're dying to know: Was the handsome Brit crooning with his own voice in the film? "I'm very flattered that you even ask [if it was me]," Firth tells TV Guide Online. "If they got a professional voice in [instead], it would have sounded a lot better than that. "I didn't really prepare very much except in my bedroom once or twice," the 41-year-old adds. "It was a fairly unprepared thing, but I think that was the spirit that was required. I was rather hoping it would all be dubbed!" Firth has a very different opinion when it comes to the vocal performance of co-star Reese Witherspoon � whose part calls for her to utter Oscar Wilde's witticisms with a British accent. "I certainly think that nobody could have been better in the role," he gushes. "We all had to make a bit of a reach... No one speaks like that. [The play]'s a hundred years old and most of us English people are fairly detached from that culture and that way of speaking now." It's one thing for Brits to return to their roots, but can an American do it as well? "I think that the nationality and the origins of the person really come second," he asserts. "I'd rather she even got the accent wrong than have a perfect English rose who can't act." In fact, Firth has a happy track record of acting opposite U.S. starlets playing UK beauties. Besides Witherspoon, he's also co-starred with Ren�e Zellweger in Bridget Jones's Diary and Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love. "Every time an American actress has come to do a film in England, I've usually been there in the film as well," he laughs. "So, I've always heard all the talk. But I don't know if there's really been a fuss about it. It may be more of a problem [in the States] than it is in England. We don't particularly care." � Angel Cohn

(moonstar)I'm so confused about this movie. You and me both. Not only do the reviews go in a hundred different directions, while noting many of the same faults, or strengths, depending on the reviewer, the actors are repeated sighted as either good, bad, miscast, perfectly cast, stiff, or silly. The director is blasted for taking the original play and modernising it and at the same time that is what makes it worthwhile for us to see in 2002, although the 1952 version is better! :))))) I have never read TIOBE and I'm glad. I can go into the movie if/when it ever gets to my little corner of the world and watch is with an empty mind while looking for some trivial entertaiment and delightful eye candy. I would like to say thanks and thanks again for all the posts of these confusing reviews!!!! On another note, William Joseph Firth in Spiderman??? I'm sorry, that is a blatant case of nepotism, or I should say, step-nepotism. (If the Sony connection reported here was correct!) I'm sure my 12 yr old son could have yelled "Help" just as loud and looked just as scared, and probably just as cute as WJF did. But, would he have had an equal chance at competing for the part?? This mother wonders!!!!! :))))))

Rounding out the principal performances, Anna Massey, as Cecily's tutor, Miss Prism,and Tom Wilkinson, give careful understated performances in the same realistic key as Dame Judi's. The whole tone of the movie needed to be ratcheted up a note or two higher. And... Unfortunately, Anna Massey and Tom Wilkinson go over the top in their roles as the prim governess and shy chaplain. Don't you love it!? ;-) At least this movie is getting reviews everywhere, which is more than I can say for "Human Nature" a movie I loved.

Nice interview in the LA Daily News. Karen, there are 2 new pics that are gorgeous. Grab 'em!:-) Published: Wednesday, May 22, 2002 A man of some importance No matter what the setting, Colin Firth is a fine actor ... period By Evan Henerson Staff Writer A few years ago in a film called "Fever Pitch," Colin Firth played a soccer-loving English teacher attempting to juggle both a budding relationship with a woman and his passion for the local football team. Right, that Colin Firth, the guy in "Valmont" and "Shakespeare in Love." The man whose screen alter-egos have never encountered an unstarched collar, played "a feckless drifter, a bit of a slob." No, really, he did. "It was interpreted as a reach for me," recalls the 41-year-old Firth. "The life of the guy I was interpreting was very close to my own. I was playing someone my own age who lived in the same postal district that I live in, who supports the same soccer team that I support, and who speaks in very much the same vernacular that I and my friends would speak in. "Whereas it wasn't considered a reach to play the richest man in England who rides around on horses with thousands of servants, and commands thousands of acres of estate." That would be Mr. Darcy, the icy but good-hearted hero of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" that Firth played most famously in a 1995 BBC miniseries. Last year, in a kind of casting slam dunk, he played Mark Darcy, a stuffy lawyer in the film adaptation of Helen Fielding's "Bridget Jones's Diary." The fictional Jones -- a "Pride and Prejudice" fan -- had openly lusted after Firth as Darcy in her two novels. One of the 50 Speaking of lusting, not long after the film came out last year, Firth was named one of People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people. Now Firth is back in suits and lush acreage in Oliver Parker's adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest." Playing Jack Worthing, the love-struck gentleman in search of a name and an identity, he's the straight man to Lady Bracknell (played in the film by Judi Dench) and her debt-riddled nephew Algernon Moncrieff (Rupert Everett). Through an elaborate ruse, Jack takes on the name Ernest Worthing in order to be able to visit London. There he falls in love with Lady Bracknell's daughter, Gwendolen Fairfax (Frances O'Connor), who is convinced she must marry a man named Ernest. Back in the country, Jack has a beautiful young ward named Cecily (Reese Witherspoon), an enormous estate and -- big surprise, since Firth is playing him -- beaucoup bucks. Maybe it's that magnificently eloquent speech that falls so easily off his tongue that makes casting directors and producers scream "gentleman." Spend a few minutes listening to Firth, and any sane individual would think the Hampshire-born son of two university professors should only be playing teachers, attorneys and well-heeled members of the gentry. Or maybe it's the fact that Firth, dressed in jeans and a light sweater for an interview, tends to look so dashing in period duds. Ask Firth about his penchant for period pieces, and the actor doesn't bristle. British actors who project working class often get the modern stuff while the more aristocratic either end up as villains in American films or high-bred gentlemen in films set in the past. "It's interesting. These are ways we interpret ourselves, and one is rather nostalgic perhaps, a celebration of our own classic literature," he says. "So I guess with the way I speak, people are going to think Jane Austen rather than 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.' " Which is acceptable? "I don't give a damn when the film is set or what the costume is," he returns. "I have an enormous love of language. It doesn't have to be archaic, and it doesn't have to be old-fashioned, but when something is beautifully written, it's a joy to work with that. "Any limitations can carry some frustrations, I suppose. I am not of the class I represent. It's not that I've never done modern stuff, and it's not that I've always played Englishmen. But my profile has always been higher when I have." Versatile gentleman Firth began his career in the 1930s-set adaptation of Julian Mitchell's "Another Country." He played the title role in "Valmont," Milos Forman's take on "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." Later, he was Kristin Scott Thomas' jilted husband in "The English Patient" and Lord Wessex, Gwyneth Paltrow's unloved betrothed, in "Shakespeare in Love" -- an earlier teaming with Everett and Dench. Villains, stuffed shirts and dashing rogues -- Firth excels at them all, says his "Earnest" director, Oliver Parker. "I think he has the ability to bring a type of vulnerability and complexity to a role," says Parker. "I planned in the adaptation to take us more and more to Jack, and it was important to have somebody who could keep the emotional through line going as well as match up to the cut and thrust of Algy's dialogue." While the current "Earnest" may be set in the late 19th century, Parker has tweaked Wilde's script and given it a contemporary sizzle often for comic effect. Stuffy, this "Earnest" is not, what with such elements as Jack and Algy's singing duet and the security check Lady Bracknell drops on Jack before letting him enter her house. And what might Wilde -- for all his irreverence -- have made of Jack and Gwendolen patronizing a tattoo parlor? Parker and his cast say the playwright would have appreciated the subversiveness. Firth certainly did, says his director. "He leaped at it, actually," says Parker, whose earlier Wilde adaptation, "An Ideal Husband," wasn't quite so frisky. "I was very impressed with his enthusiasm, at some of the bolder bits of adaptation. You're never quite sure how people are going to respond to it." Irreverent reverence Better to be gamely grimacing while face down in a tattoo studio, says Firth, than to treat a work of literature as a sacred text simply because too many generations of English teachers insist on calling it a "classic." "Oscar Wilde quite clearly stated that he wanted this to go off like a pistol shot, and I've never seen it do that on stage," says Firth. "I always felt its status as a great play, or as a classic, weighed down on it a little bit. There's absolutely no point to worshiping at the shrine of a famous play. In order to be faithful to the spirit of the original, you have to run with it. You have to make it yours. You have to own it." Even a year later, Firth still finds himself bemused about his role in the "Bridget Jones" phenomenon. Firth was dimly aware that he was frequently being mentioned in the Bridget Jones column in the newspaper, the Independent, when "Pride and Prejudice" was airing in England. Fielding visited Firth on the set of "Fever Pitch" and later conducted an "interview" with the actor that appeared in the second novel, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" and as a cover story in the Independent. "By this time I thought, 'I've been immortalized as a cultural reference point,' " said Firth, "which is quite a thrill." Talk of a film, and Fielding asked Firth if she could spread the word she hoped the actor would appear in the movie if the project came to pass. Firth agreed. When he was cast, "Bridget" director Sharon Maguire told the press that, since the character is based on Colin Firth playing Mr. Darcy, it was very hard to visualize anyone else in the role. "From my perspective, it became reality very suddenly," says Firth. "Suddenly there was a film script and people financing it and people behind it. The biggest surprise to me was what a success the film was, how well that worked. It really has become a monster."

(Mari)Check the URL too, because there's a sweet pic that I don't think we've seen before: Checked the URL but could not find the picture :-( It just kept sending me to the index. Is it possible to show it here?

Give this a try...hope it's the one. http://www.tvguide.com/newsgossip/insider/020522b.asp

Or maybe it's the fact that Firth, dressed in jeans and a light sweater for an interview, tends to look so dashing in period duds. True, but he doesn't look bad in the jeans and sweater, either! Moon, I was struck by the same pair of comments about Massey and Wilkinson. It's not unusual to have differences of opinions about the leads, but EVERYONE in this thing has been declared brilliant by one reviewer and dull by another. (Except Fox as the butler) So, how many versions of this film are out there????????? Karen, loved your suggested ad quotes. I think the PR dept sometimes does a more strained "adaptation" than the script writer does.

Thanks for posting all the reviews from the coasts, Mari. The "embrace" pic (in TV Guide) was one of my new ones I alluded to weeks ago, but only posted a couple of days ago. Sorry. :-( From various descriptions given to me, I thought it belonged with the San Diego (dimple) article. ;-D Love the new ones of him sitting on the grass in the LA Daily News. They are certainly all over the spectrum. But at least I will have something to put on the Review page of kind comments. Kicking aside the reviews to concentrate on the LA Daily News article on Colin... (CF) I was playing someone my own age who lived in the same postal district that I live in, who supports the same soccer team that I support Not at the time he made Fever Pitch. "I have an enormous love of language. It doesn't have to be archaic, and it doesn't have to be old-fashioned, but when something is beautifully written, it's a joy to work with that. Finally, an answer to the Question of the Century regarding L-dum. ;-D

Here are the pics, Allison: (Kate) loved your suggested ad quotes I'd love to take credit, but that was Mari. (Kate) It's not unusual to have differences of opinions about the leads, but EVERYONE in this thing has been declared brilliant by one reviewer and dull by another. Seems very reasonable to me, considering the scope of the reviewers' knowledge and what they seem to expect out of this film.

I find not only are the reviews all over the place, I find almost every review/reviewer to be contradictory within their own piece. Does that make sense? Total confusion, eyes v. blury!

One point they all seem to agree on is a dislike for OP's little additions. I think it natural to disagree on actors' performances, but they universally agree that OP's direction was completely off the mark and that thankfully some of the underlying material (OW's witty dialogue) rises through the muck enough so to make it OK-ish entertainment. (That's the message I'm getting in 100 words or less.)

NY Daily News" Shakespeare gets a cine-update every other week, so isn't Oscar Wilde ready for his 21st-century close-up?" Hooray...that's what I say. Sorry, the play is dead-dull. (CF) "Every time an American actress has come to do a film in England, I've usually been there in the film as well," he laughs. "So, I've always heard all the talk. But I don't know if there's really been a fuss about it. It may be more of a problem [in the States] than it is in England. We don't particularly care." ROTF.Now we know...he doesn't read the newspapers...they savaged poor Reneee when she got the role of Bridge..."A Texan"?, they screamed. Thanks Mari for all you reviews sleuthing.I don't think they're all tht bad. It's an entertaining film ; no one trashed it completely. He sure has gotten a lot of publicity mileage out of it too!!

After that lovely "Firth Class" article yesterday... here is the voice of Long Island, from Newsday: This Is the Unimportance of Being 'Earnest' By Jan Stuart (1 1/2 STARS) THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (PG). Oscar Wilde, tarted up and dumbed down for the young and the restless. The royal Miramax cast does exactly what we expect of them, but director Oliver Parker turns a grand charade into a game of "Clue." And, yes, Reese Witherspoon does a game British accent. With Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, Judi Dench. 1:34. Opens today at the Paris, Angelika Film Center, Manhattan. Opens in selected area theaters on Friday and wider on May 31. Judi Dench makes her final entrance as Lady Bracknell in "The Importance of Being Earnest" swaddled in fox pelt and bird feathers. Why Lady Bracknell would want to dress like a hunting lodge is anyone's guess. Is it the costume designer's sly wink at the audience, letting us know that he knows that underneath this consummate society snob is a wild and woolly chorus girl who married well? More likely than not, someone simply decided that it looked like something. The misplaced impulse to look like anything at all informs this forlorn remake of an Oscar Wilde masterpiece that was never begging to go before a camera in the first place. Director/screenwriter Oliver Parker, obviously feeling the need to movie-up a resolutely talky 19th century play for a restless contemporary audience, has filled his adaptation with meticulously wrought visuals. But showy period decor invites the same trap as futuristic special effects: You can throw all the money you want at fabulous manor houses or rocket ships, but it doesn't amount to a hill of beans if the picture has no soul. The soul of "The Importance of Being Earnest" is in its language and its attitude: the unstinting decorum and solemnity with which a cluster of privileged folk have sport with commonplace social contracts - you know, little things like getting married and telling the truth. To ensure the language is covered, Parker has hired on a bevy of Miramax's British luminaries much in the way MGM once summoned its prestige players for literary projects: Dench, Rupert Everett (Algernon), Colin Firth (Jack), Tom Wilkinson (Reverend Chasuble), with Reese Witherspoon and "A.I.'s" Frances O'Connor thrown in as Cecily and Gwendolyn to sweeten the deal here in the colonies. Everyone seems right on the face of it, but the attitude is wrong and the dream team disappoints. Is there any more pleasure or knowledge to be gleaned from watching Judi Dench do imperious one more time? Not really. Does it matter that Everett and Firth, both in their early 40s, are much longer in the tooth than Wilde intended for his identity-faking rakes? Well, yes, it does. Parker accommodates his casting by upping Jack's age to 35, which in 1895 would have been significantly closer to the grave and hardly worthy of Lady Bracknell's endorsement as "a good age to be married at." More seriously, though, Everett and Firth are too past their prime to embody the Peter Pan-like buoyancy and recklessness that render their characters' compulsive lying charming. As they catch each other out in their various pretenses or woo their young ladies with elaborate songfests, they just seem silly. And perhaps a bit backward. Parker may have seemed like a natural choice to bring "Earnest" to the screen, having scored an unlikely art-house bull's-eye with his adaptation of Wilde's "An Ideal Husband." Parker trimmed that play's considerable fat to reveal the melodrama at its core; melodrama plays well in films, especially when you've got Julianne Moore to snarl it up as house villain. In lieu of melodrama, Parker tries to pretend there is real juice in Jack and Algernon's late-revealed identities. He chokes the wit with ostentatious Edwardian tableaux vivant and manic, anachronistic jazz music that makes us feel as if we've time warped into one of Woody Allen's pastiche mysteries. What Wilde regarded as "a trivial comedy for serious people," Parker has made over into a trivial comedy for trivial people.

Parker has made over into a trivial comedy for trivial people. Hence Colin's comment on being a champion of triviolity? ;-) "I have an enormous love of language. It doesn't have to be archaic, and it doesn't have to be old-fashioned, but when something is beautifully written, it's a joy to work with that. (Karen), Finally, an answer to the Question of the Century regarding L-dum. ;-D Did you hear that, Eileen? ;-) Thanks for posting all the reviews, Mari. He looks so thin in those pictures.

You don't like the ones sitting on the grass, Moon? What about his footwear, surely you have a comment?;-) Karen, is it possible to get larger versions of those for your website--or would you need the LA Daily News?

Karen, I wouldn't put *that Newsday one* up on The Bucket. " More seriously, though, Everett and Firth are too past their prime to embody the Peter Pan-like buoyancy and recklessness that render their characters' compulsive lying charming." "Long-tooth" again.... Aw...they didn't see the "splendor on the grass" pic;-)

Do you see reviews from Variety, Screendaily, or THR up? Due to lack of space, I find that I cannot reproduce all reviews at The Bucket... *snort* I plan to be selective and excerpt.

Here are the pics, Allison Thank you!

Karen, I like your objectivity, and approve wholeheartedly!:-) (Evelyn)Aw...they didn't see the "splendor on the grass" pic;-) LOL! Don't worry, nobody reads Newsday anyway. Oh, except for that nice interview yesterday.;-) ;-) I don't think they're all tht bad. It's an entertaining film ; no one trashed it completely. Agreed. After those first few from the trades, I thought they'd all be like Newsday, but they're not. Will be interesting to see how differently, if at all, the reviews will come in from other cities on Friday. (Karen)One point they all seem to agree on is a dislike for OP's little additions. I think it natural to disagree on actors' performances, but they universally agree that OP's direction was completely off the mark and that thankfully some of the underlying material (OW's witty dialogue) rises through the muck enough so to make it OK-ish entertainment. I think that's a fair statement.

(Karen) Due to lack of space, I find that I cannot reproduce all reviews at The Bucket... *snort* I plan to be selective and excerpt. ROTF. You've been hanging around Harvey too long;-) Steel yourselves for the Brit press reviews. They read ours. Let's hope they adopt an opposite tactic.

(NY Times review)Wilde's contention that "we should treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality." This statement reminds me a lot of what Seinfeld did in every one of his episodes, and really an updated TIOBE would have made a very funny Seinfeld (perhaps this comparison was mentioned already). Both have lots of coincidence, wit, and irony. And both treat trivial things seriously, and serious things with triviality. Can't you just hear CF saying, "It's Seinfeld, really," just like he said SIL was like Dallas and JR. ;-D And that's really what OP did with TIOBE. He made it into a movie that modern audiences could enjoy and get. I think the wit is less detectable in the 1952 version for most audiences today, unless you're a purist or an English professor, imvho. So Lisa, Linda, and whoever else is v. confused, you have the right idea to just go see it when it comes and have a lot fun with it. Though sometimes, I guarantee, you'll be the only one laughing in the theatre ;-D. Evelyn, after reading the TV Guide interview above I am kicking myself that I didn't think to tell CF that he sounded like McCartney and Lennon when he was reaching the high notes (didn't you say that on 126?). He would have loved that!

(Karen)Will be interesting to see how differently, if at all, the reviews will come in from other cities on Friday. There aren't any other cities...doesn't it just open in LA and NY? And only the Angelika and Paris at the latter. Note to self: go to Paris Theatre when in NY next week to boost BO;-)

It expands to the next top 10 cities on Friday.

I just want to say thanks to everyone for posting all these great articles. I signed up for Yahoo News Alerts, but I get more and better news from you guys here!!! Thanks again for keeping those of us who live in the boonies well-informed...

Thank you so much everyone for all the great stories, pics, links, articles etc. It really made all the difference for me, since I'm come from Zero-ColinNews-Land (Minkee and Lisa (love your story, Lisa), the next time you think that Minkeeland has little Colin coverage, just remember people like me! I don't even know if TIOBE will come here. Sob!) (Lora) Evelyn, after reading the TV Guide interview above I am kicking myself that I didn't think to tell CF that he sounded like McCartney and Lennon when he was reaching the high notes (didn't you say that on 126?). He would have loved that! Lora, I was thinking the same thing, abt ODB sounding like Sir Paul, from the little segment that I heard on the web (Karen, thanks for posting the link). But I thought that I was too bias. Glad that some of us here thinks the same. I remember there was an earlier comment that he looks like Paul in some of the pics. Well well, look and sound like McCartney! Maybe ODB can consider a music career in his spare time. ;-) Thanks again ladies for all the great things here! You are the best! Just hope that someday I may contribute something here too.

(Lora), And that's really what OP did with TIOBE. He made it into a movie that modern audiences could enjoy and get. So he dumbed it down? ;-) Modern audiences don't get high ratings from me. I am kicking myself that I didn't think to tell CF that he sounded like McCartney and Lennon when he was reaching the high notes I thought it was more like Lennon and George Harrison. (Mari), You don't like the ones sitting on the grass, Moon? What about his footwear, surely you have a comment?;-) I'm trying to be nicer than some reviewers today. ;-) (Karen) Due to lack of space, I find that I cannot reproduce all reviews at The Bucket... *snort* I plan to be selective and excerpt. (Evelyn), ROTF. You've been hanging around Harvey too long;-) LOL! The girl has learned a trick or two. (I bet Scorsese will do as he pleases after those 20 mins of "Gangs" and the standing ovation he got in Cannes.)

(Andie) I don't even know if TIOBE will come here. Sob!) Whoa!! Don't you live in the home/region of bootleg VCDs? Surely, it'll be available on a street corner nearby shortly. But you may have to put in a special request, as they usually concentrate on bigger films.

This one is from the Newark, NJ daily--one of the few reviews to mention the Ealing connection: Oscar unworthy: Playful version of Wilde classic lessens importance of 'Being Earnest' Wednesday, May 22, 2002 BY STEPHEN WHITTY Star-Ledger Staff The new version of "The Importance of Being Earnest" bears two studio titles, Ealing and Miramax. It's an intriguing marriage. Ealing, formed in England at the turn of the century, reached its zenith in the early '50s with small, carefully wrought, fully British films. It effectively ceased to exist in 1959. Miramax, begun in America during the go-go'80s, reached its peak in the'90s, with cannily commercialized art films. It's part of Disney now, and pays careful attention to stars. "Earnest" is a logical product of their union. The classic Wilde play is the sort of thing Ealing might have made -- in fact, Rank, an Ealing competitor, did make it, brilliantly, in 1952. Its current cast is practically a Miramax honor roll: Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Judi Dench and Tom Wilkinson among them. Unfortunately, while the Ealing side still holds up nicely -- "The Importance of Being Earnest" may be the funniest play ever written in English -- the Miramax side rather regularly lets this marriage down. There are failed attempts at modernity. (Cecily, the ingenue, now has corny daydreams of Rupert Everett as a knight in shining armor -- like Shirley Temple had of Cary Grant in "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.") There is also some distressing pandering to the middlebrow. (Director Oliver Parker starts the film with a chase scene, throws in some comic violence and even adds half-hearted slapstick and a flash of nudity.) The cast can't help but pale a little, compared to that first version. This version has Rupert Everett and Colin Firth as Algy and Jack, those two roguish London bachelors, and they do at least as good a job now as Michael Denison and Michael Redgrave did then. Anna Massey's wonderful Miss Prism almost makes one forget the first film's Margaret Rutherford. But, pretty as she is as Gwendolyn, Frances O'Connor can't begin to compare with the original's Joan Greenwood, a woman whose very voice was immoral, and Reese Witherspoon is sadly out of her depth as Cecily. And while Judi Dench is formidable as Lady Bracknell, that role demands the sort of dinosaur dowager caricature Edith Evans nearly invented; Lady Bracknell is many things, but believable is not one of them. Parker's instincts have failed him before with casting and classical material; although his version of Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" was fine, his drastically revised "Othello" foolishly let Kenneth Branagh try to make Iago likable. Here, however, he's at least wise enough to leave much of the text alone, and Wilde's brilliant wit floats off the screen, carrying this mismatched cast aloft with it. There is the marvelously absurd concept, for example, of two women determined to marry men named Ernest, and two men not named Ernest endeavoring to deceive them. There is that perfectly re-created feel of Shakespearean comedy, as witty couples clash and uncouple under England's pale summer skies. And then there is the dialogue. "To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." "The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means." "All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his." But putting Wilde's words on the screen, however faithfully, is not the same as understanding them. Wilde was an aphoristic genius ("The only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about") and he crammed so many witticisms into "The Importance of Being Earnest" it becomes a veritable Bartlett's. Yet he also knew there was more to his work -- and himself -- than clever irony. For all its mistaken- identity jokes, "The Importance of Being Earnest" is more than a light comedy; it's a drama about the absurdity of labels, a cry against the hypocrisy of society and an appeal in defense of unorthodoxy. It is a position that Wilde -- an Irishman living in London, a poet at work in the popular theater, a gay man married and with two sons -- knew all too well. The true message of "Earnest," Wilde once wrote, is "that we should treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality." But Wilde's best work always quietly wed style and sincerity. This overly clever "Earnest" doesn't. And by tarting up the style -- and badly faking the sincerity -- it loses the earnest importance the play so richly deserves.

, (Rex Reed) the new cast can�t hold a candle to Michael Redgrave, Joan Greenwood, Dorothy Tutin, Michael Denison, Margaret Rutherford and especially Dame Edith Evans� titanic aria as the maddeningly eccentric Lady Bracknell. Oh yes, they can; they are the ones who aren't dead! :-D

To tell you the honest truth....I'm enormously proud of the quality of jounalism out there. This guys knows the play, ...and actually took the trouble to check out the 1952 vid.He compares other OP productions,and seems to know where Wilde stands in the canon of English lit. Although his opinions doesn't coincide with ours, he's not just reviewing this by the seat of his pants. This review has substance. And some might think even merit. Okay...now shoot me;-)

(Evelyn) Okay...now shoot me;-) Nah, not going to shoot you (especially since I haven't seen the film yet!). I'm just ASTOUNDED at the wide range of critical reactions to TIOBE. Perhaps it is because this is a new adaptation of a much-loved play, and the critics have gone into the cinema expecting one thing (apparently the 1952 version, re-done) and have received another? Dashed expectations have befuddled the critics!! :) Seriously, I'm having a hard time coming up with other films that had such a wide range of critical reactions that the public can't use any of them as a guide!! Does anyone have any theories?

Hello from another delurker. I'm in my 40's and live in North Carolina, where TIOBE will not likely be shown until after June 1st. Humph! I have posted on the BJD and the fanfic conferences but never here. Have been enjoying all the news!

What IS it with Colin and shoes? At least the ones in the park don't have the white laces. Maybe Livia should pay more attention to his wardrobe. She always has nice shoes.

Is anyone else having trouble getting into the tv guide article and pictures? Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for the articles and pictures today.

(Kate) She always has nice shoes. Are you sure about that? ;-D BTW, I enlarged the two pics from this a.m. since I know everybody wants to be able to read the brandnames...

(Kate) She always has nice shoes. Are you sure about that?(Karen) Maybe Colin bought them for her at a garage sale. Did get into the tv guide site. Love that pic of CF and FOC Thanks, Karen for the enlargements

What IS it with Colin and shoes? I agree, the best shoes in the world are Italian. And, the clothes aren't bad either. I didn't mind the sneakers....they look like what I see whenever I hit a sports store. Do the lawn pics look like the same outfit from the interview from the hotel in NY??? How does all this publicity compare to other film releases of Colin's? I wasn't around for BJD, did he get generally good reviews from the press? Also, I found it interesting that I saw only one mention of Conspiracy as a credit for him in all these reviews! I'm having trouble finding the Today show on the TV here. We used to have it on about 12 or 1am here, live or close to it. Now I can't even find it on the schedule. (Did see David Letterman for the first time in ages though.) Minkee...oh Minkee...did you get the show taped the other day? What do you know about all this? :))))) BTW...Karen...when I was logged in early this morning I was reading posts with no tags, but now, they've all come back!

**Note** Those blue shoes couldn't be Italian. LOL Karen!

Pardon while I lol...bwahahahaha!Whew....the shoe thing is killing me!I have to give it to Lisa...definitely NOT Italian : )

Welcome Kat! Love the pictures Karen, thanks! Long in the tooth indeed! No way!

Sorry to repeat, I posted the New York Post's review on the spoiler's board. Mari, you are fast! It is interesting that that reviewer didn't seem to enjoy AM and TW performance.

Love the pics of the shoes. LOL I liked the blue ones; they could have been bought in the UK. *grin*

I kind of like the blue shoes :)

Welcome, Kat I can almost deal with the blue, and the gold thong types, but what in the world are the ones in the third picture? Karen, surely you jest. Actually, the blue ones look like they're attached to wooden legs.

Hi! Yet another new member here... I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed all the articles and pics the last few weeks! And to think I thought I was all alone. Silly me. So glad to have found this place! Like going home... I live in the Philly area and can't wait to see TIOBE Friday night with the hubby! (Is three a crowd?) Taking a half day just to make sure I get there on time. (Pathetic?) Now let's hope I can find a babysitter for the kids... Happy to be here! :))) And thanks again Karen for your help!

(Meg) I live in the Philly area and can't wait to see TIOBE Friday night with the hubby! So, is TIOBE opening in Philly this week? In that case, I just may get to see it before it opens here, because I'm going up there for my vacation on Saturday. Wow... *big grin* Now, if only I can convince my cousin to take me! Which theatre will it be showing in?

Welcome Kat! Where in NC? I lived in W-S many moons ago for a couple of years. Welcome Meg! I lived in Philly, too (The Northeast) for a couple of moons after NC while going to college. Missed it there while I lived in FL, but not after moving to NY. I kind of like those gold sandal things, not so keen on the other ones...but I am NO shoe connoisseur. Give me sneakers, Birkenstocks, and black boots during the winter and I'm set! Saw a little blurb in the NY Times today on inside page of Metro Section about Colin and Rupert. Do they put that stuff online? Pull Outs(?) from the ad in the Times today: "A FREEWHEELING COMEDY! Rupert Everett & Colin Firth are delightful! Reese Witherspoon adds sparkle! Judi Dench is hilarious!"- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone "A MUST SEE!"- Julia Dahl, Marie Clare "THE PERFECT ANTIDOTE TO THE SUMMER BLOCKBUSTERS!"- Neil Rosen, NY-1 "ENORMOUS FUN! Absolutely A+!"- Sandie Newman, CBS-TV Surely there are positive comments from reviews from higher profile publications and broadcasts that could be used... although does it really matter?

Welcome all newbies (and especially those from the Philly area!:-) Linda and I are seeing it at the Ritz on Friday if anyone wants to meet up. E-mail me privately if interested (or just to say hi). (Dorine--my hubby grew up in your old neighborhood--small world, eh?) (Meg)Taking a half day just to make sure I get there on time. (Pathetic?) Not as pathetic as moi, who is taking the whole day.:-) You might say "I'm Colin in sick" . . .;-) (Dorine)Surely there are positive comments from reviews from higher profile publications and broadcasts that could be used... although does it really matter? Since the reviews from the NY and LA papers didn't come out until today, they wouldn't be in today's ads. They'll use some of the new quotes in the weekend ads, for sure.

Mari, ROFL Arrrggg, can't believe I have to wait another week!

(Mari) Linda and I are seeing it at the Ritz on Friday The Ritz! Went there once to see "Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown" HA! Guess that describes us over the past couple of weeks! (Mari) Not as pathetic as moi, who is taking the whole day.:-) You might say "I'm Colin in sick" Took mine last week ;-D

(Lisa) How does all this publicity compare to other film releases of Colin's? I wasn't around for BJD, did he get generally good reviews from the press? By "other" what do you mean? Pre-BJD, he would've hardly gotten a mention in the big movies he's appeared because of his supporting role (SIL and TEP). You would have to go way back to his earlier days for reviews that really focused on his acting, like Apartment Zero. Fever Pitch hardly played in the US. He was virtually ignored in A Thousand Acres. We all know about the Valmont experience. For BJD, many of the reviews still focused on HG. You can take a look at the BJD reviews. Another Lisa and I had a good time critiquing the reviewers a la Bridget. ;-) (they still make me chuckle) http://www.spring.net/karenr/mdbro/bjdrevsum.html BTW, she wore the gold thongs to the Relative Values premiere in London. *eyebrow raised*

For those who missed Cast Party on VH1, here are two more rebroadcast times (all Eastern): Friday 5:30pm Saturday 1:30pm

(mari) "Colin in sick" ! That one is too good to only stop at one pun. More please....

Saw about a boy tonight. Ho-hum predictable movie. Was not HG's best work but could not see ODB pulling it off as well. ODB has a sort of gravity and intensity that the character deliberately lacked. The character even admitted he's shallow. ODB is made of finer stuff and IMO the silly, affable, irresponsible role doesn't suit. Obviously I am not a fan of Fever Pitch. Very similar character to Paul. IMO FP not Firth's best work. nowhere near.

Took mine last week(Dorine) You sure did! But how worth it was it!!!! Hello, Meg, Welcome I saw AAB last Sat. I agree with you Nica. I thought it would have been neat to see ODB in a cameo during the Amnesty Int. phone-a-thon scene.

(Dorine) Welcome Kat! Where in NC? I lived in W-S many moons ago for a couple of years. Actually, I live in W-S! Were you at school here or what? I am originally from the LA/Hollywood area in California but have also lived in VA, London, UK and DC.

Hello to everyone new and keep posting!!!! Post nonsense, post extraneous news, don't make me the only one!!!! Hello Kat! I'm originally from LA/Orange Co. Now in Australia. But, I know Hollywood like the back of my hand from my university days! LOL :))) HI AGAIN!!!!!!

You guys have been talking about Katie....Did I miss the Today interview????? I thought it was Friday!!!???? Someone help me out here!!! Thanks for posting the Cast Party rebroadcast times, although now I'll have to reveal my ODB obsession to someone who has cable. Oh, well, maybe I'll win a convert! :)

(Mari) Not as pathetic as moi, who is taking the whole day.:-) You might say "I'm Colin in sick" . . .;-) I can't believe you said that... :-D Glad you said it firthst. I'm not originally from the Philly area, but have been here for over 20 years now. First movie I saw at the Ritz was Another Country. Didn't fall for ODB that time though. Anyone else going to the 3:50 show? Or are you going to all 4??? Actually, the Ritz website no longer is listing times, which has me a bit nervous... I'll have to call I guess.

(Lisa)I'm having trouble finding the Today show on the TV here. We used to have it on about 12 or 1am here, live or close to it. Now I can't even find it on the schedule. (Did see David Letterman for the first time in ages though.) Minkee...oh Minkee...did you get the show taped the other day? What do you know about all this? :))))) Lisa - taping unsuccessful - sorry. I called my daughter from my hotel in Melb, who pre-set the tape. Apparently she got visuals but no sound. Am not back home in Syd til Fri night so won't be able to check til then. "Today" show is on Channel 7. I just checked the online guide (www.i7.aol.com.au). It is referred to as "NBC Today". Starts around 1.40 am and goes through til 3.30 am. If Colin is sked to come on Friday morning US time - then that must be the Sat 1.30 AM one down here. If CF is featured again on the Weekend Today show (is there such a thing - oh dear US Drooleurs?) then that must be the one that is shown on early Monday morning here. Don't forget the replay of Tom Brooke's Talking Movies - 3 times tomorrow (Friday) on Foxtel BBCWorld 2.30 am, 5.30pm and 11.30 pm, if I remember correctly. Happy hunting to all down under.

Oh by the way welcome to Meg, moonstar and others, I may have missed : whether semi or permanent de-lurkers. The more, the merrier!

Three online film critics have posted reviews. They are all bad, but I will only post this one, as it has substance. The other two were basic and 'trivial.' One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek): D Less an adaptation than a bastardization, Oliver Parker's frantic reworking of Oscar Wilde's 1895 masterpiece is a misfire of the first order. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is quite simply the wittiest play in the English language, a piece so flawlessly fashioned and deliciously phrased as to provide ample pleasure even in a mediocre stage production; it's one of those rare works of art that, if only presented honestly, is virtually indestructible. Though it boasts a promising cast, however, Parker's treatment is an almost unmitigated disaster. This is rather a shock, since Parker gave us a generally estimable film version of Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" in 1999: he made alterations to the script, to be sure, but that play doesn't approach the perfection of "Earnest" in the first instance, and in any event the changes weren't destructive. With "Earnest," however, his choices are almost always wrong; indeed, he seems perversely to have gone out of his way to destroy the piece's basic strengths and replace hem with a kind of loutish vulgarity that's completely foreign to the original. To anyone who loves this play, he result will be painful to watch. Parker's initial error was to treat Wilde's brilliant deconstruction of nineteenth-century British class and cultural mores (played out in the form of the "romances" of two duplicitous men with the women they seek to marry) in a generally naturalistic way. The very essence of "Earnest" is its exquisite artificiality, its foppish dismissal of the slightest hint of realism and utter embrace of mannerism. As one of its characters retorts when something's he's said is criticized for not having any meaning, it's style, not the truthfulness, that matters. Parker has misunderstood this essential fact and tried idiotically to make his picture accessible to modern audiences by dampening the wit in favor of ham-fisted farce and "opening up" the action (presumably to make the film seem less talky and wearisomely "cultivated") by introducing such extraneous elements as chase , romantic hallucinations, and even a crassly foolish musical number. Instead of an elegant play of words, we're given something like "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Manor." But while vaudeville slapstick was quite appropriately applied to Plautus, Wilde is entirely another matter. In the process the delicate brilliance of the original is crushed and in its place we get merely a sloppy, amateurish burlesque. (A brutally cute and obtrusive music score by Charlie Mole only adds to the sense of crudity.) There are some glimpses of what might have been in the pithy gem-likes lines of Wilde that continue to shine even in a context like this one (when you can hear them amidst the hubbub), and in the work of the talented, but mostly misused, cast. Rupert Everett, as the wonderfully wicked Algernon, and Colin Firth, as the staider, parentless Jack Worthing, could conceivably succeed in these roles, but under the stress of Parker's sledgehammer direction and a battery of unflattering close-ups they appear o be working far too strenuously; these characters need to appear snootily detached and virtually plastic, but here they sweat, smirk and groan all too obviously. The women of the romantic quartet are better. Frances O'Connor makes a suitably chilly Gwendolyn, and Reese Witherspoon an amusingly ditzy Cecily. Best of all is Judi Dench, who recites her speeches magisterially and manages to retain the dignity of the redoubtable Lady Bracknell even when Parker requires her to run about in the wild toward the close--something we know inherently that this overweeningly imperious figure would never do. Edward Fox also contributes a few good moments as Algy's impossibly proper butler. Tom Wilkinson could probably have made a wonderful Dr. Chasuble, but Parker forces him to employ so many tics and sniffles that his performance is buried in them. And Anna Massey slips too easily into pathos as the reverend's intended, Miss Prism. Astonishingly, Parker chooses to play her final "revelation" scene--one of the most arch y outrageous recognition scenes in theatrical history, perhaps rivaled only by the equivalent episode in Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro"--almost seriously. Even at this most wonderfully artificial point, Parker blunders disastrously into realism. Happily, there are alternatives. Anthony Asquith's 1952 filmization might not be precisely calibrated, but in Edith Evans it has a marvelous Lady Bracknell, and it's at least true to the play's nature. Even better is the 1981 television version by Michael Linday-Hogg (based on Michael Attenborough's London stage production), with Wendy Hiller and Jeremy Clyde memorable as Lady Bracknell and Algernon; its candy-cane colored ambience and mannered style capture the piece's tone of elegant absurdity almost perfectly. (There are probably other good versions out there too, but I haven't encountered them.) Unfortunately, those who come to know Wilde's masterpiece only through this misbegotten venture will have to be forgiven if they scratch their heads and wonder why "Earne t" has been held in such high regard by so many connoisseurs for more than a century. An amateur local production will be a better introduction to Wilde's wonderful wit than this.

Thank you Karen. At least the cast seems to be getting generally some level of absolution, the critics preferring to lay the shambles at the feet of OP. It's a shame. :-( Nevertheless - I know I'll still be "Colin in sick" many, many times to savour the "battery of close-ups" - no matter that the critics think they are "unflattering" - nevah!

Showing solidarity, I would say. ;-D From THR: Miramax makes Fragile deal May 23, 2002 CANNES -- Miramax Films has sealed an exclusive first-look co-financing deal with Ealing Studios and its production label Fragile Films, headed by independent producer duo Barnaby Thompson and Uli Fruchtmann, the parties said Wednesday at Cannes. Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein announced the deal with Ealing Studios' chief Barnaby Thompson. Fruchtmann was also present alongside Miramax's Rick Sands and Buena Vista U.K. chief Daniel Battsek. Through the deal, Miramax get first-look for film and television projects developed and produced by Thompson and Fruchtmann, who are both co-owners of Ealing and Fragile principals, for English speaking territories. The projects that come through the deal will be released under the Miramax and Ealing Studios banners. Fruchtmann said the deal will initially run for two and half years and that Miramax will fuel overhead and development costs. "I'm thrilled to be in business with one of the U.K.'s most talented and prolific producers," Weinstein said. "We are very excited about playing a role in the revival of the Ealing Studio banner--which highlights our continuing love affair with British films and the European film business." Thompson said to operate as an independent producer in the U.K. it has become important to have a strong American partner and compared Weinstein to the late British movie mogul Alexander Korda. "What we can do through this partnership is give British talent a home, give them a chance to make movies and give them great distribution," he said. Charles Layton, exec vp in the office of the chairmen, and Stuart Ford, senior vp of acquisitions and international operations, negotiated the agreement on behalf of Miramax with the assistance of Karen Hogarty, head of Miramax UK business and legal affairs. Attorneys Craig Jacobsen and Stewart Brookman, of Hansen Jacobmen Teller Hoberman Newman and Warren negotiated the agreement on behalf of Fragile Films. The trio have worked together three times previously with Miramax partnering the duo on the upcoming "The Importance Of Being Earnest," directed by Oliver Parker, which will be the first film for 43 years to be released under the Ealing Studios banner. The parties have also worked together on "An Ideal Husband" and "Lucky Break." First in line for the new agreement, is a film noir working titled "Fade To Black," based on an Italian novel of the same name. The project is budgeted at around $15 million and is a thriller set in Rome just after the end of the Second World War. Parker is currently working on a new draft from a script by co-writer John Sayles. Thompson said he would show Weinstein a new draft over the coming days. [Ed note: I forget, has this been cast yet? C'mon, Harvey and Uri, give Colin this role!!]

(moonstar)although now I'll have to reveal my ODB obsession to someone who has cable. Oh, well, maybe I'll win a convert! :) Or you may find another secret Firthette. You never know. Just reveal your secret to another WOMAN. I asked my best friend's husband to tape RV for me, and he is still teasing me mercilessly about Colin, particlarly since he thinks Colin was not *acting* when he played that part. Hmm, must find a friend who can program the vcr for herself! (Mari)"I'm Colin in sick" . . A perfect expression, I should have used that last week. Must try that on my boss, who doesn't understand my obsession, but is at least amused by it.

There was a snippet of CF and RE singing in tiobe on Extra yesterday. I know some people (Spokane, for eg.) get this a day late in case you want to check. From Response 507: "I didn't really prepare very much except in my bedroom once or twice," the 41-year-old adds. Why can't I get this out of my head? "Lady come down....."

Thank you Karen for the online review. V. well resourced,but indicting. "... but under the stress of Parker's sledgehammer direction " Ouch!Like Minkee said, at least the cast comes out clean.

From the Toronto Sun http://www.canoe.ca/JamMovies/may23_firth-sun.html Colin Firth: Hidden star Brit actor content with anonymous success By LIZ BRAUN Toronto Sun NEW YORK -- Few adult women were surprised when Helen Fielding based the hero of her book, Bridget Jones' Diary, on British actor Colin Firth. If we have to explain the actor's appeal, then you must be a guy. Not that there's anything wrong with that. ENSEMBLE OUTING Firth, who went on to play Mark Darcy when the book became a very successful film, is currently starring in The Importance Of Being Earnest, an ensemble outing courtesy of Oscar Wilde with a cast that includes Dame Judi Dench, Rupert Everett, Reese Witherspoon and Frances O'Connor. He says of Earnest, "I do find light comedy is the hardest thing to do. There's nothing to fall back on. And the whole identity thing ..." Well, yes, the identity thing. In Earnest, Firth plays Jack Worthing, a man who pretends to be one person when he's in the country and quite another person when he's in the city. In the country, what's more, he watches over his ward (Reese Witherspoon) and in the city he courts a woman (Frances O'Connor) whose mother forbids a marriage. The film is very funny and very much about language. At 42, the actor and author ("It's a rare occurrence I get anything into print. I need a deadline and a threat") says he first became an actor at the age of 14. "Because everything else didn't seem to be going anywhere." His choice was moved along by a complete academic inability at math, chemistry or physics. On one chemistry test, he scored 3%. "And the teacher did mention giving me two points for writing my name correctly. It was a dead end. My physics was 1%. I just wasn't getting off the ground in that area." As English and music were going well, however, a career in the arts was born. "It wasn't a choice, really." From the get-go -- his first West End stage role in Another Country -- Firth found success. He picked up his Another Country role when the play became a movie, and went from there to such films as Apartment Zero, Valmont, A Circle Of Friends, Pride And Prejudice, The English Patient, Shakespeare In Love and of course, Bridget Jones' Diary. (After Valmont, Firth lived for a time with co-star Meg Tilly. They have an adolescent son together; currently, he is married to Livia Giuggioli, and they have one infant.) Success seems surprising to him still. That's because, says Firth, he's never had any expectations. 'BRILLIANT ACTORS' The grandchild of missionaries and the son of a history teacher and religion professor, Firth says, "I didn't expect to be in a movie, I didn't expect to be in the West End, either. I didn't expect to be in movies because that was another profession completely, for movie stars." In England, his movie star thoughts are not unusual. "Look at Stratford -- all those brilliant actors. Not a film role among them." Firth points out that he's been almost 20 years in the business without any sort of real presence, thus far, in the American movie-goers consciousness. "So, if it does not embrace me -- I can keep working and it's fine."

(Meg)First movie I saw at the Ritz was Another Country. Really? That's great. Linda and I will be going to the NJ Ritz; I assume you'e going to the one in Philly? I work near there, so if you're ever up for a loooong lunch break, let me know.:-) Parker is currently working on a new draft from a script by co-writer John Sayles. Thompson said he would show Weinstein a new draft over the coming days. Um, ya think OP can improve upon a Sayles script?!

I'm back and bit more sober this time. Lisa & others down here - my alarm clock worked and just saw a quite delectable ODB on BBC World Talking movies. Yum! You must go and check it out - on again at 2.30 pm and 11.30 pm today Friday 24 May. Foxtel Ch 37. Thank you to our US Drooleurs for telling us. If the posts are showing in small font on your screens, I think it may be my fault from a couple of drunken posts earlier (rightly and promptly zapped by the Boss! LOL!) So mea culpa to all on the board. But am not sure what I have to do to get the font size back to normal again. Shall I try this? Otherwise, we will have to wait for the Boss to weave her magic to make it right. sorry

Looks like it worked. Font size seems ok now. Hope it's the same for everyone else.

(Colin, via Toronto Sun) "Look at Stratford -- all those brilliant actors. Not a film role among them." Thanks for posting this, Bryonny This ties back to what he said in the Talking Movies interview. There are a lote of "working actors" who never find fame. That seems to be what he expected from his own career at the start. On one hand, it's nice to know that he isn't suffering great resentment that fame hasn't chased him. I wonder if a marriage and small child help him keep that persective? On the other hand, it would be nice if he chased a few roles a bit more. A film noir set in Rome sounds like a nice fit. So, while I wouldn't want him to trample anyone (and I'd hate to see him burn his hands and knees while crawling through lava), he could be a bit more aggressive. Maybe Livia knows someone who knows someone at the publisher? (HG claims to have first seen AAP in galley proofs, maybe that's the way to snag a story) Does anyone know if Fade to Black has been tranlated into English?

Mari�Yup, the Philly Ritz. Just reserved the tickets. (But would have camped out...) Soooo excited! I recently dug out an old Films In Review with a blurb on A Month in the Country (when it first came out). Is this something anyone would be interested in reading? If so, I'll type it in here tonight.

Type away Meg! I would like to read it! : )

alright it took me until yesterday to catch up on all the posts from the weekend, don't know what i'll do after my week long vacation in the beginning of june, i'll never be able to catch up after that i fear, note to self: must get access for home computer since work is not reliably slow enough to drool all day how this for sad: my mom-in-law just saw BJD for first time she invited me to the viewing since i've been raving about it for months, it was a nice wine drinking evening while my father-in-law occupied a wound up two year old for the entire time, unfortunely she said she didn't think colin was that handsome, i had such grand plans for her to finance trips to meet CF at premieres like other lucky admirers we all know, i guess i'll have to think of another way to fund my obsession okay so this is old but i'm so glad the famous "colin stepping out of the poster" photo was reposted because it didn't show up the first time i viewed them on my computer, image is amazing, now i know what everyone was raving about counting the days until the 31st because i think that is when TIOBE opens in st. louis, all i know is what was on the amc theater website, i'm planning on making a mad dash to the theater before the week long vacation, don't know what i'll do if it isn't there

Lordy, thank goodness someone explained the small font. Thought my eyes decided to give ut on me after all the required reading around here this week. FTB sounds perfect for ODB. Location is right up his viale.(boulevard) I couldn't remember the word for alley (vicolo?) Sorry, Moon

(Trese) maybe you should have started her off with P&P?

Here I go again, responding to my own posts (trese)she said she didn't think colin was that handsome It is your mother-in-law,BTW. Maybe she doesn't want her son to have to compete with ODB.

lindak, i was going to have a little tea party with her one day and use her dvd player (since i don't have one) to watch my new p&p dvd, she agreed to watch it but i keep having visions of her snoozing through dr. zhivago when we got rained in at their country house, i don't know if she thinks he'd be competition, though i was gushing all throughout the movie, we are very open with each other (possibly too open because she thinks i'm a martyr for putting up with her son sometimes), i'm thinking she definitely needs to see p&p and just get more exposure to colin

FTB sounds perfect for ODB. Location is right up his viale.(boulevard) I couldn't remember the word for alley (vicolo?) Sorry, Moon LOL, Linda! FTB e un buon vicolo per lui. I hope he fights for that part. Of course, he should have already convinced OP he's the right one for the job, but has he? I've been so very busy and catching up with everything here! Thanks to everyone who is posting reviews and welcome newbies! BTW, it's nice to see other people on the fashion patrol. ;-D

Hello everyone, I'm out from lurkdom for a minute ;-) (Lisa)I'm having trouble finding the Today show on the TV here. We used to have it on about 12 or 1am here, live or close to it. Now I can't even find it on the schedule Lisa/Minkee I taped an episode of the Today show on Channel 7 a couple of mornings back, but it all seemed to be news/current affairs related. I admit I did fast forward most of it, but I'm sure there was no *entertainment* interviews, and definitely no Colin. Its was on from 1.00am to 3.00am. Many thanks to everyone who has posted interviews/reviews/photos etc over the past few weeks; its greatly appreciated.

(from resp. 572) First in line for the new agreement, is a film noir working titled "Fade To Black," based on an Italian novel of the same name. Sounds right up ODB's alley, though noir is difficult for directors to do well. Would love for CF to do a noir with David Fincher. Anyway, I hope he's thought of for this role!!! (from same resp.) Parker is currently working on a new draft from a script by co-writer John Sayles. I don't think I would have the guts to try and mess with a Sayles script. IMHO, of course.

I don't think I've thanked and welcomed everyone for making this such a wonderful place to "lurk" in the last couple of weeks. I should say extra-wonderful, because it's always great. I've loved reading about the personal accounts, seeing the pics, and meeting de-lurkers. We are not alone! Have to admit, I'm glossing over the reviews. They are making me v. dizzy. I know when TIOBE finally reaches NC (there are several of us here, I see), I'll enjoy it, even if it is trivial. What's that old saying about listening to someone (or watching) reading the phone book. Karen, The Bucket is overflowing with good stuff. And thanks so much for the up-to-the-minute TV schedule. Cast Party was a complete hoot and delight, and not being of that demographic (or maybe I *am* VH1 material?) I would have missed a treat. VCR is primed for the Today show Friday AM. Also am "Colin sick" (sorry, I just love that). Have my fingers crossed for the Daily Show. Speaking of the boonies, Karen, have you ever run across a list of markets? IOW who are the "top 40" or the second tier of cities after NY/LA, after the 10, etc. I know we're the last, but am curious what the middle level is.

Hi everyone, You are all amazing. Thanks for all the great posts on newspaper articles, TV appearances, and premieres. I am so envious. Nothing seems to be happening on this side of the pond. - Roll on September when TIOBE opens. - I hope he makes as many TV appearances over here!! Does anyone know if any of the programmes mentioned air in the UK? I've just had satellite TV installed this week, and don't know my way round the many channels yet. Any help would be great. Keep up the great work!!!

(Meredith) have you ever run across a list of markets? Nope.

(trese)and just get more exposure to colin I If you want her to have more exposure to Colin might I suggest PM-uh it had better be a real open relationship for that tea party. (Moon)BTW, it's nice to see other people on the fashion patrol. Next time the shoe police make fun of ODB's choice of footwear, check out Robin Williams shoes at the premiere of I last night. Funky lookin things. Just want to remind everyone to keep voting for the MTV film awards. I saw a special the other night where they reviewed the awards over the last ten years. Throughout the show they mentioned this year's categories and nominees. They also gave updates on which nominees had accepted to appear. I got to see the kiss clip but no mention of CF or RZ. They did say they would continue to update the acceptance list.

Tonight, in 1 hour (9pm eastern), on the Mystery Channel here (Ontario, Canada) which I get on digital cable: Master of the Moor part 1. Not sure if this is helpful to others, as I don't know if they do the same programming in other markets.

Welcome, Cathey Why come out of lurkdom for just a minute? Once you're out, you're out! Stick around and join the fun.

Great review in the Washington Post: 'Earnest': It's a Wilde World By Desson Howe Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, May 24, 2002; Page WE43 IN "THE Importance of Being Earnest," Jack Worthing (Colin Firth) is a respectable man. He takes care of an 18-year-old ward, Cecily Cardew (Reese Witherspoon), at his palatial home in the country. And he's constantly traveling to London to take care of his worthless brother, Ernest. One small detail: This brother doesn't exist. Jack has to set a high example to his ward. And without Ernest, why he'd be visiting those fashionable watering holes of London for no reason. When he visits these places, Jack calls himself Ernest. Welcome to Oliver Parker's smart, sassy interpretation of the Oscar Wilde play, in which staying ahead of trouble is a gentleman's true calling. Jack's friend, Algy Moncrieff (Rupert Everett), who lives in the city, is a truth spinner himself. He claims to have a friend named Bunbury, who's constantly falling ill. As a devoted friend to this fictional Bunbury, Algy is forever using him as an excuse to get away from such regular occupational hazards as overwhelming debt, skipped checks at the restaurant, that sort of thing. You know, trouble. In this spirited movie, both men fall in love under the assumed name of Ernest. Jack proposes to Gwendolen Fairfax (Frances O'Connor), Algy's cousin, who knows Jack only as Ernest. She loves "Ernest," but she's stymied by her mother, the dread Lady Bracknell (Judi Dench), who demands the right to interview all suitors. And when Algy skips to Jack's country home and meets the attractive Cecily for the first time, he falls in love too. He tells Cecily he's Jack's scoundrel brother, Ernest. Two women are madly in love with someone called Ernest. May the farce be with them. Writer-director Parker, who also made "An Ideal Husband" (which featured Everett), has made a roundly entertaining comedy about man's apparent inability to be comfortable with the actual truth. He has drawn much source material from an original four-act draft which included more of the subplot between characters Miss Prism (Cecily's prissy tutor) and Rev. Canon Chasuble (the local vicar). The latter characters, played wonderfully by Anna Massey and Tom Wilkinson, have eyes for each other. They struggle mightily to contain their inner passions but, well, this is an Oscar Wilde drama. Speaking of withholding, it's virtually impossible to resist sharing a little Wilde wit. "To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune," says Lady Bracknell, appalled at Jack's revelation that he's an orphan. "To lose both looks like carelessness." Whether or not the right people end up with their intendeds is almost immaterial, although the performances from all are so good, you actually do care. The real importance of "Earnest" is the thrill of brilliant repartee. And as we laugh, an amazing thing happens: Oscar Wilde comes alive.

Chicago Tribune review; great one for Colin! Movie review, 'The Importance of Being Earnest' By Robert K. Elder It remains one of the tragedies of the English language that Oscar Wilde didn't leave us with more plays. Shortly after the 1895 London premiere of Wilde's stage masterwork, "The Importance of Being Earnest," the 40-year-old wordsmith found himself in prison for being unfashionably homosexual in Victorian England. He was dead five years later, a broken writer suffering ill health after two years in poor prison conditions. "Earnest" represented Wilde at the height of his literary powers, his rapier wit carving away moral hypocrisies while still leaving hope for love in otherwise absurd human relationships. Director and screenwriter Oliver Parker seems to understand this and harnesses the raw genius and comedy of "The Importance of Being Earnest" through a cinematic parliament of fine performances. At the same time, Parker adds to works that require little ornamentation. Much like Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" (previously adapted by Parker), "Earnest" embraces the comedic possibilities of romance attempting to take flight in London's tiny social cage. But Jack (Colin Firth of "Bridget Jones's Diary") has found a way through the bars. A well-to-do gentleman of the country, Jack escapes his mundane manor and spirited young ward, Cecily (Reese Witherspoon), by frequenting London under the pretext of looking after his black-sheep brother, Ernest. Jack, of course, is Ernest in the city and Jack in the country - until he falls in love as Ernest with young Gwendolen (Frances O'Connor), whose overprotective aunt, Lady Bracknell (Judi Dench), won't hear of marriage until the matter of his mystery heritage comes to light. Jack himself is no help - having no memory of being left in a railway station's cloakroom, tucked inside a baby-sized satchel. Of even less help is Jack's city friend and Lady Bracknell's nephew, Algy (Rupert Everett), a master of duality himself, who complicates matte s by showing up at Jack's country estate posing as Ernest. "The Importance of Being Earnest" reteams Parker with Everett, who led 1999's "An Ideal Husband." Here, Everett offers flashes of Algy unhinged as the flamboyant playboy, sick in love with Jack's young ward. He's almost garishly cartoony in Algy's manic mischief - eyes bugging out and smile stretched beyond a sneer as Jack rings his neck for complicating his overtures of marriage. Luckily, Firth adds stability and genuine charm not only to the film but to the role of Jack and his strained relationship with Algy. Nothing endears the sexes to one another as grace under fire, and Firth never wilts - even under the glare of Dench's powerhouse Lady Bracknell. In "Husband," Parker streamlined Wilde's word orgies, exercising restraint after rewriting Shakespeare in much of his "Othello," starring Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Fishburne. In "Earnest," Parker delivers a few inspired additions to the play but staples on a fantasy element to Cecily's daydreams, putting Everett on a white horse and in shining armor in between his scheming and prancing. Other than daydreaming, Witherspoon doesn't have much to do and spends the film over-pronouncing her dialogue in an English accent. All of this subtracts from Jack, whose situation provides the core conflict and velocity of the story. While it's easy to understand Parker's move to make the movie adaptation more of an ensemble piece, Jack remains the ensemble lead. Besides, Wilde's sparkling dialogue comes through best when unadorned, and Parker's additions often play like lace curtains on a stained-glass window. Still, the actors amplify Wilde's sense of timing and satire. "The Importance of Being Earnest" resonates and inspires rapid-fire bouts of laughter, perhaps even a few giggles from the author himself, whom posterity has rewarded the last laugh.

Interesting--the reviews outside NY and LA seem much more positive.:-) 'Importance of Being Earnest' is not a Merchant/Ivory period drama Jeff Strickler Minneapolis Star Tribune Published May 24, 2002 As movie trios go, Rupert Everett, Oliver Parker and Oscar Wilde have not achieved the fame of, say, the Three Stooges. But if they keep their relationship intact, they inevitably will establish their own following, Two years after collaborating on a delightful adaptation of Wilde's "An Ideal Husband," actor Everett and director Parker are back with the playwright's most famous comedy, "The Importance of Being Earnest." It is not the resounding success of the earlier film, but a strong ensemble cast and Wilde's zingers provide more than enough buoyancy to carry viewers past a middle act that sags a bit. The plot involves parallel cases of intentional mistaken identity. Cecily (Reese Witherspoon) and Gwendolen (Frances O'Connor) have their minds set on marrying men named Ernest. Eager to please them, Algy (Everett), who is interested in Cecily, and his best friend, John (Colin Firth), who is in love with Gwendolen, both assume the name Ernest Worthing. The ploys work until Algy, with creditors a step behind him, takes refuge at John's country estate. Suddenly there's one too many guy named Ernest. Wilde's absurdist comedies thrive on energy. Witherspoon ("Legally Blonde") and O'Connor ("A.I.") get into the spirit immediately. It takes Everett and Firth ("Bridget Jones's Diary") a bit longer to get up to speed, but they find their stride for the frantic third act. Judi Dench steals the half-dozen scenes in which she's involved. She brings a wicked edge to her reading of Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen's pompous and autocratic mother who is determined to chase away any of her daughter's suitors considered unworthy -- all of them, in fact. The sets are marvelous, and the costumes are elaborate, but this is not about to be mistaken for a Merchant/Ivory period drama. There's too much silliness afoot for that. The only earnest thing about it is the pseudonym used by its protagonists.