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An Ideal Husband (1999)
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Reviews Counted: 52
Fresh: 45
Rotten:7
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Consensus: 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.
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Sir Robert Chiltern (Northam) is a successful Government minister with a loving wife. He is threatened when a lady (Moore) appears with damning evidence of a past misdeed. Sir Robert turns for help... Sir Robert Chiltern (Northam) is a successful Government minister with a loving wife. He is threatened when a lady (Moore) appears with damning evidence of a past misdeed. Sir Robert turns for help to his friend Lord Goring (Everett), an apparently idle philanderer, who takes matters in hand in this wicked yet touching comedy, based on the play by Oscar Wilde. [More]
Starring: Rupert Everett, Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver
Starring: Rupert Everett, Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver, Jeremy Northam
Director: Oliver Parker
Director: Oliver Parker
Story: Oscar Wilde
Screenwriter: Oliver Parker
Producer: Uri Fruchtmann, Bruce Davey, Barnaby Thompson
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Release:
Jan 18, 2000
Reviews for An Ideal Husband
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.
Parker has made a sensible cinematic translation of Wilde's play, intercutting scenes which would have been played consecutively on the stage.
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.
A movie whose few imperfections never detract from its elegant characters and intriguing plot.
While it would have been easy to simply rely on the strength of Wilde's writing to carry the project, Parker and his cast never give any less than their very best...
[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.
All this less-than-ideal Husband proves is there are few folks who have the sense to leave classic text alone.
The drama boasts a treasure trove of witty dialogue and some fascinating characters who are forced to prioritize their values in strange circumstances.
Latest News for An Ideal Husband
May 13, 2005:
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