Oliver Parker's new Earnest adaptation boasts a fine cast capable of delivering the author's flamboyant epigrams, yet even they falter under the director's chaotic vision.
Comment
05/31/02
Rate this Movie 
Importance of Being Earnest (2002)
58
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:106
Fresh:62
Rotten:44
Average Rating:6/10
Consensus: Despite the great potential of the cast and Oscar Wilde’s script, director Oliver Parker put aside too many Wilde's witticisms and failed in an attempt to develop the visual appearance of the film. Nevertheless, the lines remaining from the original script still allow the work to be passable.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating]
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:May 22, 2002 Limited
Box Office: $8,281,437
Synopsis: In his second adaptation of an Oscar Wilde play, writer-director Oliver Parker (AN IDEAL HUSBAND) assembles a peerless cast to engage in this witty comedy of manners and mistaken identity. In 1890s... [More]
Starring: Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Judi Dench, Frances O'Connor
Director: Oliver Parker
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Reviews for Importance of Being Earnest
While this Earnest is lively fun, it never quite feels sufficiently important.
05/31/02
Oscar Wilde's 1895 comedy remains one of his most enduring, and Miramax's new release can't match the impact or import of the original. But while this film may be a lesser light, it's still worth a visit to the manor house.
05/31/02
Those who prefer the play as a gleaming comedy of manners may object, but viewers who enjoy more physical humor are likely to revel in the film's deliciously barbed dialogue and frenetic chemistry.
05/31/02
In trying to make Earnest more of a visual romp than it needs to be, [Parker] almost stomps the Wildeness out of its literary wit. But he doesn't. The good humor and lively acting survive.
05/31/02
Top CriticFilmmaker Oliver Parker has misfired with what would seem to be can't-miss material.
05/31/02
Click to read the article
05/31/02
There is such a thing as being too earnest.
05/31/02
It has neither the wit nor the timing of the play, though much of the charm has remained intact.
05/31/02
The niftiest trick perpetrated by The Importance of Being Earnest is the alchemical transmogrification of Wilde into Austen--and a Hollywood-ized Austen at that.
05/30/02
The ingenuity that Parker displays in freshening the play is almost in a class with that of Wilde himself.
05/30/02
Watching this all-too-Earnest bunch, one wishes for a head tic, a stammer or any other comic mannerism that would impart a sorely lacking sense of fun.
05/30/02
I had a dream that a smart comedy would come along to rescue me from a summer of teen-driven, toilet-humor codswallop, and its name was Earnest.
05/30/02
The film is a fragile frolic, but the real theme enjoyed by countless audiences through the years -- the importance of being earnest instead of deceitful in matters of the heart -- still shines through the frosting.
05/30/02
Top CriticWitherspoon puts to rest her valley-girl image, but it's Dench who really steals the show.
05/28/02
Oliver Parker brings the wit's [Oscar Wilde] work to the screen in a solidly rendered creation.
05/28/02
Parker cannot sustain the buoyant energy level of the film's city beginnings into its country conclusion
05/27/02
A witty screen adaptation of this classic comedy of manners with its generous supply of snappy one-liners.
05/26/02
It would take a complete moron to foul up a screen adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s classic satire.
05/26/02
On this esteemed list of players, Witherspoon may seem like the poor relation, but, like her rosy-cheeked, starry-eyed character, her beauty, poise and insouciance make her the center of attention in every scene she's in.
05/26/02
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Wes Anderson on Fox 
The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
The New Cult Canon
AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.
New Moon Portraits
TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.
Unsexiest Men Alive
Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds