An Ideal Husband (1999)

 3/4

Starring: Rupert Everett, Julianne Moore, Jeremy Northam, Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver

Rated PG-13 for Brief Sensuality/Nudity

How refreshing it is to find a comedy that doesn't go for the least common denominator.  "An Ideal Husband" is a comedy for the thinking person.  Rather than crude humor, pratfalls and stand up comics shooting their mouths off (Seth Rogen, this means you!), this is a movie that is as smart as it is witty.

Lord Arthur Goring (Everett) is universally recognized as the "idlest man in London," preferring to lay about doing nothing than take anything seriously.  In fact, when someone mentions that he is doing something serious, his reply is priceless: "Forgive me, it won't occur again."  Trouble starts with the arrival of Lady Cheveley (Moore), who has scandalous news about his good friend, Sir Robert Chiltern (Northam).  Sir Robert is a rising star in Parliament, but his unimpeachable morals aren't quite as clean as they appear to be.  Now Arthur is going to do something he's never done before if he is going to save his friend from ruin: act selflessly.

Oscar Wilde's dialogue is a character of its own, and writer/director Oliver Parker knows that it is meant to be savored.  Fortunately, he has assembled an all-star cast to deliver Wilde's lines to their fullest.  Rupert Everett dominates the film as Arther.  His bemused arrogance is perfect for the character, and he attacks his lines with relish.  He's so good that it's impossible to imagine anyone doing it better.  Julianne Moore, who so often plays the good girl, has no problem bringing out her bitchy side; Lady Chiltern is genuinely intimidating.  Minnie Driver is also in top form as Robert's sister Mabel, who loves Arthur and matches his wit, bite for bite.  Jeremy Northam and Cate Blanchett have the flattest characters, but they're there so the story can have stakes.  But their efforts are largely unsung; Northam and Blanchett are good enough that we get invested in this farcical comedy of manners.

Oliver Parker makes the perfect choice in directing this material: he trusts the actors and the dialogue.  He doesn't do too much with the camera.  He just sits back and lets the first class cast do their thing.  He knows that this is not the time to show off or "try" for Oscar glory.  The film is in focus and the actors are front and center.  That's all that he needs to do and that's what he does.

"An Ideal Husband" has a stagy feel to it, but that's to be expected.  This is a movie that doesn't need gadgets or special effects, fan service or in jokes.  It's the kind of movie to sit back and savor the deliciously witty lines.  And there are a lot of them; hardly five minutes goes by before someone (usually Arthur) says something witty and sardonic.

Enjoy.

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