Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Kirpianuscus One of good adaptations. For performances - Rupert Everett as the inspired choice for each "translation" of Oscar Wilde universe - but, in same measure, for a sort of freshness of a case of inspired use of the nuances of Wilde humor. A film about a man and his secrets and the prices of confidence. Seductive. And simple. And, maybe, lovely.

gcsman This film is self-described as "based on" Oscar Wilde's stage play, and that's accurate. Scenes are not in the same order, quite a bit of the characteristic Wilde dialog has gone missing, and some other material not in the play has been interpolated. Nevertheless, it's entirely fun to watch and entirely worth it.My wife and I think this might be Wilde's best play, because it cuts a bit deeper than his more famous Importance of Being Earnest and really does have a serious message to go with the trademark Wilde comedy and unbeatable wit. The message at the end being, simply, that people need to give each other some slack -- extend forgiveness rather than judgment. Thankfully, lots of the wit is still there, and no one could do that like Wilde. The acting is fine, led by Rupert Everett as Arthur Goring: all the Wilde plays have a character who represent Wilde himself, and Arthur is the best case of that. We just came back from seeing the Stratford Festival production where Arthur was played to the hilt as a Dandy, which in Wilde's time was almost a technical term and which Wilde himself put out as his public persona. Excessively mannered behavior, extravagant and expensive yet weirdly tasteful suits, a quick wit ready to emit a clever opinion on anything at all, and comments that sound self-contradictory yet contain insanely clever aphorisms. The movie version doesn't quite do justice to that -- in fact all the main characters are somewhat muted from the more extreme versions you can pull off on the stage. Overall it's a great cast. Julianne Moore is fine as the villainously smooth snake who ignites the ticking time bomb that makes up the plot, Jeremy Northam and Cate Blanchett play the husband and wife pair who gradually come to understand each other, and themselves, better as they go along, and Minnie Driver is their sister who finally maneuvers Arthur into proposing, much to his own surprise.It's all a fun ride, though you end up wondering if they could have produced a version that would have been a bit more faithful to Wilde's text. As a last comment, the settings are very nice; both lavish and accurate for ca.1890's London society.

Mark Heiliger Ain't no wit like Oscar Wilde's wit 'cause Oscar Wilde's wit don't stop! I wish I could carry on a conversation like the characters in An Ideal Husband or any of Wilde's other stories. The world he creates with his words is like a giant stage only built to give his characters an opportunity to have crackling dialogue and witty asides. This humor rarely got anything larger than a chuckle out of me, but it was so constant that my gut hurt at the end of the movie. Better to have a movie filled to the brim with quiet, downplayed jokes than a movie built around two or three "big laughs" like an Adam Sandler vehicle.But this isn't one of those - it's a vehicle for Oscar Wilde's witty writing. I hate to keep using the word "witty," but that does seem the most appropriate term. The thesaurus tells me that good replacement words might be "intelligent" or "whimsical," but those don't feel right, no no. Because the character of Lord Goring, whom you will find on the DVD cover played by Rupert Everett, is not "bright" or "smart" or even "epigrammatic." He is witty, and that is that. He is spoiled and self-indulgent, but one cannot deny his gift of wit - his ability to go through life spinning any seriousness into a joke has given him an inherent superiority over the rest of his community. Life is never a drag, it's always a party. Until it isn't.One of his old flames comes into town to do some business with a close friend, Sir Robert Chiltern, who has much political power. This woman, Mrs. Chevely (a devilish Julianne Moore), happens to know some damaging information about Robert's past and blackmails him into publicly supporting a particular scheme she has invested in. It's really an unexpected turn for a story that starts so light and comical (unless you're already familiar with Wilde's work). The drama between Goring, Cheveley, Chiltern, and his wife is sometimes tense, sometimes funny, and sometimes bittersweet. The story operates not only as a romantic comedy, but also as a political drama and blackmail thriller. One scene that serendipitously brings all of the principals together at Goring's house manages every emotional low and high within the span of a single 10 or 15-minute scene.I must say, however, that much of this tale depends too heavily on coincidence and silence to create its drama. Every story contains some amount of coincidence, and this was originally a play - a cast of dozens wasn't possible, so all manner of problems had to exist between these certain people and those people alone. I can forgive that much even in an adaptation. But so much conflict could have been avoided if these characters simply talked to each other about the obstacles they faced. Too often a character will be about to say something, then stop, as if it would be rude to continue. These silences are not played well. It looks not like a character is so distraught he or she is unable to speak, but merely like they decided to say nothing further, and no one could change their minds. It feels arbitrary, not natural.That's all direction though, not only the actors. For the most part, the entire cast is wonderful. This movie makes me long for more like it, not in setting and subject matter necessarily, but in its wit. Hollywood makes movies based around a catchy concept instead of a cast of characters (unless the character IS the concept, like in Bubble Boy). This isn't anything new, but An Ideal Husband made me see it with new eyes. Maybe I should start up Stage Plays With Mark...http://www.movieswithmark.com

virginiabrittain How refreshing to find a movie for grown-ups! Did anyone else notice that Minnie Driver, in the role of Mabel, was doing a wonderful Audrey Hepburn impression throughout the movie? I think she is so underrated. She has such amazing range, whether playing poignant, comic, vulgar/comic, delicate,or tragic, she's always believable and fun/fascinating to watch. I also loved Rupert Everett, who struck just the right note. The cast must all have relished being able to speak such delicious dialogue. Of course the lush costumes and sets were impeccable, and created the perfect setting. The intricacies of the plot make a reviewing advisable and would certainly reward the viewer with lines of dialog and character interplay missed the first time around.