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IMDb > The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)
The Importance of Being Earnest
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The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) More at IMDbPro »

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The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
6.7/10   8,769 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Oscar Wilde (play)
Oliver Parker (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Importance of Being Earnest on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 July 2002 (Australia) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Everybody Loves Ernest... But Nobody's Quite Sure Who He Really Is.
Plot:
In 1890s London, two friends use the same pseudonym ("Ernest") for their on-the-sly activities. Hilarity ensues. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win & 1 nomination more
User Reviews:
The Importance of Being Witty more (129 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG for mild sensuality.
Runtime:
97 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The scenes where Rupert Everett slaps Colin Firth on his rear end and where Everett kisses Firth's cheek were ad libs. Director Oliver Parker thought Firth's stunned reaction was so humorous he decided to leave them in. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Gwendolyn holds a match to light Cecily's cigarette, the cigarette is lit already. Also, Gwendolyn's match flame does not come close enough to the end of Cecily's cigarette to light it. more
Quotes:
Algy: I really don't see what is so romantic about proposing. One may be accepted - one usually is, I believe - and then the excitement is ended. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#22.45)" (2005) more
Soundtrack:
Lady Come Down more

FAQ

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18 out of 29 people found the following review useful.
The Importance of Being Witty, 10 May 2005
4/10
Author: Melanie from Sydney, Australia

I have always been a great fan of Oscar Wilde, and consider him as a playwright to be under-rated. His plays are often dismissed as shallow, but they are some of the greatest comedic writings of all time, in my opinion. The witty repartee that Wilde's characters engage in, particularly in The Importance of Being Earnest, is hilarious in most performances.

What a pity, then, that this production of it drags its feet like a drunken yeti (Yes, that's right, a drunken yeti. Use your imagination). It is slow and ponderous, where it should be quickly paced and light. It is morbid and dramatic, where it should be witty and amusing. The screenwriter of this adaptation and the director both deserve to be lined up against a wall and shot. And I simply cannot describe what should be done to Colin Firth, who plays an exceedingly dull and moronic Jack Worthington that would never have survived in London society.

In a movie that should have had the audience cackling with mirth from start to finish, the chuckles were very sparse. Most were provided either by Judi Dench, who brings some true Wildian spirit to the movie as Lady Bracknell, and Reece Witherspoon as the innocently shallow Cecily (but what the #@$& were those 'knight in shining armor' dream scenes?).

Wilde I may love, but not this movie. My rating? A disappointing 4 out of 10!

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