Importance of Being Earnest

Pros: The leads, Judi Dench, the little details.
Cons: I can't think of any, I was having too much fun watching this.

Most today remember Victorian aesthete and playwright Oscar Wilde for his scandalous life (at the time), rather than his literary work. Which is a pity, because it's some of the best satire ever to hit the stage and screen. This wickedly funny look at...

Pros: Good fun.
Cons: Some credibility stretches in the characters’ actions.

Let me admit up front it’s been years since I’ve read Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Or any Wilde, shamefully enough. So if you want an in depth literature-as-film piece you’ll have to search elsewhere. In fact, this 2002 ...

Pros: Wilde story. Wild story.
Cons: Very, very little.

Oscar Wilde, it seems to me, is particularly easy and particularly difficult to put on film. Easy, because his work is so good, all that is required is a few decent actors who understand the material, and a decent effort at putting the...

Pros: Acting, some scenes in the second half
Cons: Added material, random scene changes

The first time I encountered Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest I feel in love with it. I was in high school at the time, and it was one assignment I laughed through. I loved it just as much when I reread it in college. Seeing the ...

Pros: Great performances, snappy dialogue, lovely sets and costumes
Cons: Occasionally missed a line due to Brits speaking through their teeth

What’s in a name?

Shakespeare did not attribute much to names, but Gwendolyn Fairfax (Frances O’Connor), a proper Victorian young lady, most certainly does. Gwen has a penchant for the name Earnest and wants to marry a man with that...

Pros: How could you go wrong with a script like this?
Cons: Extraneous scenes

I've seen "The Importance of Being Earnest" three times now, and I'm still not completely sure what ...

Pros: Good acting, sets & costumes, dialogue faithful to original play
Cons: I was tired when I saw it and tempted to sleep at points.

The Plot


The plot revolves around lies and deceit to set-up comic situations! Gwen likes the idea of catching a husband whose name is Earnest. Her guardian, Lady Bracknell, however finds Mr. Earnest Worthing lacking in one...

Pros: Oscar Wilde's satiric masterpiece!
Cons: Doesn't trust the material

One of my favorite lines written for the stage in the last 25 years or so is from Ira Levin's "Deathtrap". Sidney has just finished reading a play a student of his sent for his opinion. It is good. Really good? Sidney's wife wants to know. "It's so good...

Pros: The play is perfect, the movie is based on the play, so the movie works.
Cons: Parker took many creative liberties with the script that lessened the quality of the piece.

The Importance of Being Earnest was perfect the way that Oscar Wilde wrote it. He was a brilliant satirist and all of the plays that I've read of his, I've found immensely enjoyable and funny. This play is by far his most famous and it's easy to see...

Pros: The cast (in general), the wretched thing is very lovely to look at
Cons: The direction, pacing, songs and music -- the whole thing feels forced

I love Oscar Wilde's play, and approached Oliver Parker's filmed version in a spirit of innocent anticipation, perfectly prepared to like it. I didn't. At all.

Wilde's play is one of the most brilliant in the English language. The producers...

Pros: Beautiful landscapes, good cast
Cons: Didn't stick to an already solid script, disjointed to those who know the play

I sooooo looked forward to seeing this movie - but I must say that once I saw it on the big screen, I was left feeling that it was an effort more deserving of a video rental.

I am a HUGE Importance of Being Earnest fan, so that has probably...

Pros: Judi Dench as Lady Bracknell
Cons: Slow pacing, a butchered screenplay & a pathetic performance from Colin Firth.

I have always been a great fan of Oscar Wilde, and consider him as a playwright to be under-rated. His plays are often dismissed as shallow, but they are some of the greatest comedic writings of all time in my opinion. The witty repartee that Wilde's...

Pros: Cast - especially Judi Dench
Cons: Somehow just didn't grab me like I expected it to...

Maybe my expectations were too high. I was hoping for greatness with this film; but it just doesn't quite get there. It is still a very good movie and is highly enjoyable. It just doesn't quite make the 5-star list.

"An Ideal Husband" is one...

Pros: Wonderful, witty dialogue; two very handsome and appealing men.
Cons: Not playing in enough theaters.

Two years ago, after reading this play, and seeing another Oscar Wilde movie, "An Ideal Husband", I prayed that someone would make "The Importance of Being Earnest" into a feature-length film. My prayer was answered, and even more than I'd hoped for...

Pros: good acting, funny
Cons: a little unbelievable at times, slow at first

If you have seen these actors in other movies and liked them, you will love this movie. The casting is perfect and the characters are believable. A few things that happen are a little far-fetched, but overall the movie is good. I don't really know what...