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The Importance of Being Earnest
By Dave DePino
"Would a rose by any other name smell so sweet?" Sure it would. Would a man called by any other name than Ernest also be so sweet? Not so in Oscar Wilde's "trivial comedy for serious people," THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. This century old chestnut has again hit the silver screen, this time under the direction of and adaptation by Oliver Parker who did phenomenal work last year with another of Wilde's masterpieces,An Ideal Husband. Caution, however, don't let his affiliation and the devised-in-heaven casting fool you. This Earnest, though quite tasty in most places, leaves a lot to be desired in others.
For those who need a little brush-up on the story, here's the gist of the plot. Jack Worthing (Colin Firth) resides in the country with his lovely young ward, Cecily Cardew (Reese Witherspoon). Jack, however, visits London to play around, as lads are prone to do. To justify his trips to the city, he invents a carousing brother that needs looking after - a brother he has named Ernest. Jack becomes Ernest while in the city. When in London he has a good friend, Algernon Moncrieff (Rupert Everett), who lives in the city, but Algy has manufactured a fictitious, deathly ill elderly friend who lives in the country. This phony ailing pal affords Algy the excuse of going to the country to play -- again, boys will be boys.
Ernest a.k.a. Jack is in love with Algernon's cousin, Gwendolen Fairfax (Frances O'Connor). Gwendolen has a mother from hell, the overpowering bully, Lady Bracknell (Dame Judi Dench). The Gestapo-mama opposes their coupling due to the fact that Ernest/Jack's lineage is that of an orphan who was found in a handbag at Victoria Station. In the meantime, Algernon goes to the country, taking on the identity of Jack's fictitious brother, Ernest, and falls in love with Cecily. Both young damsels also fall in love, partly because their men bear the exciting name, Ernest - which neither actually do. In time, all's well that ends well and love wins out.
The performances are terrific with the exception of - and this hurts to say - Dench as Lady Bracknell. It is imperative that the role be played for fun as it has wonderful laugh lines and denotes the absurdity of the character. Dench - let's blame it on Parker, he should have known better - plays her like an actual, proper, dignified Lady. This drains all the bloom out of her important scenes and leaves the comedy of the writing to stand alone. Funny though it may be, it screams for a flamboyantly colorful delivery. Firth and Everett shine in this genre. They have marvelous chemistry, which really works in these particular roles for a number of between-the-line reasons. The lovely and very versatile Witherspoon is a pleasant surprise. O'Connor also does fine work. Then there is the hysterical couple, Rev. Chasuble (Tom Wilkinson) and Miss Prism (Anna Massey), who are a sheer delight for the funny bone. Massey's quick waddling walk and facial expressions are hilarious.
Back to the minus side: there seems to be a yearning by Parker the writer, aided by Parker the director, to modernize this piece. It just doesn't work. Also a no-no are failed attempts at playing cute. Wilde is funny, not cute. One doesn't mess with perfection. Parker didn't do this with Ideal Husband,--why do it here? To his credit, though, when he's on target, which is a good deal of the time, he's right in the bull's eye - dead on. His pacing is mostly perfect for the style of Wilde's writing, even though he drags out the final moments which diminishes the crisp climax. Otherwise, he has a good understanding of the writer's rhythms and dramatic/comedic intentions. Parker, along with cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts, costumer Mauriizio Millenotti, make-up and hair designer Peter King and set decorator Ian Whittaker, realize Luciana Arrighi's artistically yummy production design. The musical score has a nice lushness to it and even the anachronistic selections aren't all that off-putting. Some of the locations are breath taking. This is a visual treat. So, a mildly cautious recommendation for this wild, Wilde comedy.
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