Unfortunately, Everett is paired with his polar opposite (in my mind, anyway), the terminally irritating Minnie Driver. She has one lovely moment -- when Everett fixes her with a smoldering gaze, her jaw drops, her eyes bug out, and she stammers, helplessly lovestruck. I couldn't have said it better myself. But the rest of the time, she's her usual compendium of flat line readings, bizarre facial tics, and impassive expressions. The rest of the cast is quite good, though the wonderful Cate Blanchett doesn't have much to do and poor Jeremy Northam doesn't get any witticisms and has to carry the weight of the rather leaden dramatic subplot pretty much on his own. Julianne Moore gives a one-note performance, but it's a spirited, saucy note, at least, as the sly, feline villainess.
An Ideal Husband is good, comparatively erudite fun, particularly when a certain swooningly debonair man is on-screen. Go see it, and encourage Hollywood to make more movies with witty scripts, sparkling casts, and Rupert Everett.
(Note: After seeing a bunch of movie previews, I told a friend of mine, "I can't wait for An Ideal Husband and Dick." He thought I sounded rather desperate.)
Back to homepage
Reviews A to F
Reviews G to L
Reviews M to R
Reviews S to Z
Search