ThiefHott Too much of everything

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Steineded How sad is this?

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

slothropgr I've always believed that every movie is allowed One Big Coincidence, and the bigger it is, the earlier in the picture it should be sprung. This is known (don't ask me why) as the "Of all the gin joints in all the world" rule. This example of lesser Coward has a HUGE coincidence which if the above rule were followed would have to have been sprung on the audience at least a week before the movie began. The irony is, the coincidence isn't even particularly germane to the main story and the movie could've gotten along without it. And should've. Said main story involves the clash of solid traditional veddy-upper-clahss English values with more casual boorish Yankee lack-of-values, brought about when the Lord of Marshwood (named Nigel and well named) brings his American bride-to-be, a big movie star, home to meet his mum, a proper but likable paragon of British nobility (Julie Andrews of course). The HUGE coincidence manifests when Lady Marshwood's maid and boon companion confesses that the big American movie star is her sister whom she hasn't seen in 20 years! The story never really recovers from this astonishment because nothing more is made of this beyond some awkward comedy (the movie star doesn't recognize her sister) and once the maid reveals her true identity to the star, the whole thing is shuffled aside and the movie becomes another of the kind of class comedy the Brits love so much. You get the feeling Coward threw it in just to liven things up because he couldn't think of anything else--it comes from deep in left field (or over the wider field boundary, this being England) and pretty much stays there. The sisterly relationship is never resolved (the star makes a totally unbelievable former Brit) and once everyone's had a night's sleep cooler heads prevail and the engagement hassle comes to its foreordained conclusion. Fortunately there are xlnt performances to help us through this, particularly Colin Firth as the Coward stand-in (dry wry and quite a guy) and Stephen Fry as the very model of a modern English butler, dealing out wisdom and consolation as needed. And Julie is magnificent--impossible to believe she was 65 when she made this, especially in the green off-the-shoulder leather evening gown she wears in the opening sequence. You'd never have caught Mary Poppins or Maria von Trapp in something like that.

pink_fairy_poo This has to be one of the very worst films I've seen. Admittedly, getting free on the front of a magazine didn't bode well, but this was beyond all expectation, it was truly awful.Not in the least bit funny, just plain boring, my family and I endured this travesty of a film in the hope that it might get a bit better. Even the high profile cast (Julie Andrews, Colin Firth and Stephen Fry) failed to redeem.Most of the film time was spent discussing with my Dad the fact that it was filmed near my cousin's house, a conversation a whole lot more enthralling than the dragged out dialogue dirtying my television set.This truly is an awful film.

Insp. Clouzot Brilliant acting from a superb cast. Dialogues are great and subtle. Stephen Fry is a marvelous butler. Fans of "Mad Max 12" and "Lethal Weapon 123" pass your way ; it is not for you.... For the rest of the world, it is a good movie with a charming - though predictable sometimes - opposition between British and American values -and way of life...

Chris_Docker Most of the criticism has been because the gags of Noel Coward about class are not so funny now as they were then. But that is just to judge the film by the play. It's *mildly* funny - I dozed at the beginning but then woke up when I realised how enjoyable it was. The real gems are the superb performances all the way through and the way English and American life, mannerisms and etiquette of the 50's (when they were far more distinct) are portrayed so touchingly. Luxuriate in a nice comfy cinema seat (if they have them near you) and be pampered by it!