The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)
Film:
DVD:

Written by Oliver Parker, based on the play by Oscar Wilde
Directed by Oliver Parker
Starring Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon, Judi Dench

Features:

• "Making of" featurette
  
• Running audio commentary with writer/director Parker
  
• "Sneak Peeks" of the soundtrack, Pinocchio, Kate and Leopold, An Ideal Husband, Mansfield Park, Project: Greenlight

Anamorphic: Yes.

My Advice: Rent it.

Jack Worthing (Firth) lives in the country on his estate with his ward, Cecily (Witherspoon). Life seems to be pretty good, if it weren't for his rapscallion of a brother, Ernest. Ernest lives in the city and is often getting into messes that Jack must go and bail him out of. What no one in the country realizes, though, is that Jack is Ernest. At least in town. Whereas Jack has responsibilities and whatnot, Ernest can go and have a good time--and court Gwendolen (O'Connor), cousin of his friend Algy (Everett). Algy pulls the same trick, but in reverse, for his good friend Bumbry in the country who is an invalid and needs his attentions. When Algy next goes to the country, though, he poses as Ernest--just for grins--and manages to fall in love with Cecily. So two women both think they're involved with somebody who doesn't really exist. Kinda sounds like high school all over again, doesn't it?

Thus is one of Wilde's most well known plays--and it's well known for a good reason. The reason being that it's funny as pure flaming hell. As Parker points out in his audio commentary track, you'd think the actors were ad libbing their heads off when, in fact, it's mostly Wilde's words. Firth and Everett are both perfect for their respective roles. Firth plays the part of the man who really has no clue to who he really is well, always with an air of discomfort when his character has nothing to distract himself with. And Everett is always the perfect rogue. Throw into the mix the two ladies, O'Connor and Witherspoon, who both give excellent turns. The scene where the two go from strangers to best friends to mortal enemies locked in singular verbal combat to sisters is just priceless. And then there's Judi Dench, who's simply a goddess--her Lady Bracknell is the perfect variation on Dench's patented Uber-Matriarch ^TM archetype that she always works to perfection.

The film on a whole is quite good. There's always just something joyous in watching a passle of excellent actors given great material and told to rock on. And Parker's adaptation succeeds in what he set out to do: take a period play and not flat out update the sucker to the present day (as some have done, most with mixed to wincing results), but give it a more contemporary feel. And sure, Merchant Ivory/period purists will scoff a bit, but who cares? It's fun and more importantly it's funny.

The main feature the disc sports is a commentary with Parker himself. The commentary has a bit of a pet peeve of mine: no introduction and no wrap-up. The introduction is extremely important, because not only does it let you know who's talking ("Hello, I'm Oliver Parker, writer and director of this film...") but it also lets you know that you're on the right damn audio track. It's only once we're in the film proper that Parker says something, and it's so out of the blue I went back and listened again to make sure I hadn't missed a preamble. Once it gets going, the track is decent, but nothing to write home about. He feels compelled to defend his choices in adapting the film, talks about the actors and the process a bit--it all feels very subdued and sparse.

The featurette is, as HTQ4 has stated on numerous occasions, a "blowing smoke" little bit--though its five to six minute running time is almost made bearable by Judi Dench and her observation on why she does theatre at all. That was choice. Otherwise, you've got a slew of questionably placed trailers and that's it.

Although the film is a lot of fun, unless you're a huge fan of the actors or Wilde, you probably wouldn't want to own it. And it does have a couple of features, but they're not sufficient enough to induce me to tell you to plonk down that coin. Rent it at least, though, for it is a hoot.