It may be important to be Earnest, but who is Earnest? Well, since it comes out in the first 10 minutes of the movie, it won’t hurt to tell now. No one is Earnest. Well, not really. The movie, which is based on the play by Oscar Wilde, has enough false and mistaken identities to be a Shakespearean comedy.
Earnest starts out as the fictional younger brother of Jack Worthing (Colin Firth). Worthing creates him as an excuse to leave his country home and his young ward Cecily Cardew (Reese Witherspoon). He also pretends to be Earnest while in the city visiting with his friend Algernon Moncrieff (Rupert Everett) while courting Gwendolen Fairfax (Frances O’Connor).
Confused? There’s more. Lady Bracknell (Judi Dench), Gwendolen’s mother, does not want her daughter marrying Jack Worthing (whom she believes is named Earnest Worthing), because of a question surrounding who his parents are. However, the headstrong, lovesick Gwendolen refuses to accept her mother’s decision and leaves the city to find John at his country home.
To add to the confusion, Algernon decides to visit John at his country home pretending to be the fictional Earnest, meanwhile courting the imaginative Cecily. Then add to the mix Cecily’s elderly, easily flustered governess Miss Prism (Anna Massey), who is being rather clumsily courted by the neighborhood minister Dr. Chasuble (Tom Wilkinson).
Of course, there are a few more twists and turns to the story, but in the end, everyone’s identity is revealed and they all set out to live happily ever after.
Overall the acting is fair, though not spectacular. Everett does a decent job as the “”dandy”” Algernon who likes to live it up while running out of money. Firth doesn’t fare so well playing Jack, considering Jack pretends to be Earnest so that he can escape his life as Jack. Firth does a poor job creating a lively city personality for his character.
Witherspoon’s performance as Cecily was also disappointing as she portrayed her character to be one-dimensional. She also lacked any chemistry with Everett, even during the fantastic moments of their romance. O’Connor did a wonderful job as the spunky, determined Gwendolen who can’t quite escape her overbearing mother. And Dench does a satisfactory job playing Lady Bracknell, a socialite who despite her humble beginnings, has a great deal of concern over her daughter’s marrying into a good family.
Dench’s costumes alone are almost enough to make seeing the whole movie worthwhile. Her dresses are extravagantly overdone with frills, ribbons, ruffles and bows. Her hats look as though someone planted a rose garden on her head. The costumes are wonderful and truly bring her character to life.
The cast plays off each other well throughout the movie and the contrast between the characters brought them all to life in a charming way.
The humor throughout the movie is rather entertaining, however there are a few moments when the jokes fall flat. The scenes poking fun at how silly the women in the movie act tend to be drawn out and detract from O’Connor’s otherwise strong character.
The movie is enjoyable and definitely a fun way to spend the afternoon, especially if you have a date. Of course, to quote Algernon, “”The essence of romance is uncertainty.””
The Importance of Being Earnest
****
Starring Rubert Everett, Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon
Film opens May 31
Rated PG
