An Ideal Husband (1999)
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 63
Fresh: 54 | Rotten: 9
Brevity is the soul of wit, eh? This adaptation gets to the nitty gritty of Wilde's stage piece and plays on eternal human foibles.
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Critic Reviews: 15
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 1
Brevity is the soul of wit, eh? This adaptation gets to the nitty gritty of Wilde's stage piece and plays on eternal human foibles.
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Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 10,557
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Movie Info
A romantic and sentimental comedy set at the turn of the 19th century, An Ideal Husband delves into themes of love, passion, and betrayal among the aristocracy. Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam), a brilliant politician and a perfect gentleman, is the ideal husband for the charming Lady Chiltern (Cate Blanchett). They have a widely envied marriage until charming Mrs. Cheveley (Julianne Moore) appears with the intention of revealing a dark secret from Chiltern's past. When his world seems to be
Jun 18, 1999 Wide
Jan 18, 2000
Miramax Films
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Cast
-
Rupert Everett
Lord Arthur Goring -
Julianne Moore
Mrs. Laura Cheveley -
Jeremy Northam
Sir Robert Chiltern -
Cate Blanchett
Lady Gertrud Chiltern -
Minnie Driver
Mabel Chiltern -
John Wood
Earl of Caversham -
Lindsay Duncan
Lady Markby -
Peter Vaughan
Phipps -
Jeroen Krabbé
Baron Arnheim -
Ben Pullen
Tommy
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All Critics (65) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (56) | Rotten (9) | DVD (8)
An enjoyable, minor, lustrously shot revamping of Oscar Wilde's play about the perpetually interlocked manners of love and deception.
Smooth-flowing direction, a shrewdly pruned script and a top-flight ensemble cast that visibly relishes both the dialogue and one another's perfs make this a tony item for upscale, mature audiences.
Parker has made a sensible cinematic translation of Wilde's play, intercutting scenes which would have been played consecutively on the stage.
[I]t's likely that Mr. Wilde, who once wrote, 'A poet can survive anything but a misprint,' would have been less than thrilled with the result.
Top CriticWilde was always about lots more than witty repartee, and as sparkling as his play is as drawing-room comedy, it reveals his concern with the timeless values of unselfish love and forgiveness.
An Ideal Husband works because Wilde created an expert mechanism (kind of slow-motion serious screwball comedy) for manipulating the plot and characters.
Quality comedy with a sprinkling of romance, skilfully assembled by a director with a clear feel for the material. Performances are universally great and the dialogue, of course, is superb.
It's lavish, clever entertainment, a welcome opportunity to laugh without shame.
It's a pleasant diversion but sadly, little more than a chance to hear Rupert's barbed wit.
The exquisite teamwork and byplay make the film such a delight to watch.
All the other performances -- from Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver, Julianne Moore, John Wood and Peter Vaughan -- are first rate.
Certain stretches truly sparkle, but the movie is not as inventive as The Winslow Boy, nor as relaxed and goofy as Midsummer[night's Dream].
Rupert Everett goes buck wild (okay, Oscar Wilde) in this Victorian comedy of manners and romance.
An ideal alternative to the onslaught of Hollywood summer films.
An Ideal Husband is, at its heart, a romantic comedy of mix-ups.
It is sad that this kind of dialogue is seen so infrequently in modern films; Wilde had a way with words unparalleled in this century.
Alas, something went wrong between stage and screen...
A movie whose few imperfections never detract from its elegant characters and intriguing plot.
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May 13, 2005:
Trailer Bulletin: "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"Right here at Rotten Tomatoes you can enjoy the all-new trailer for the upcoming and highly...
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