There is one thing that has bothered me more and more over the last few years about films. And that is how they are marketed. It seems that no how much the movie is not a comedy or how serious the film is, the execs behind it feel it is necessary to make the film look like it is a comedy. There are some very serious issues in whatever film it is that they are marketing but instead of trying to market it as a drama or a period piece, they make you think it is a comedy. They make you think that you are going to walk out with a smile on your face. In the previews there is always some scene of someone dancing with a huge smile on their face. It such common practice now that I am surprised that Goodfellas and Schindler's List wasn't marketed as a comedy. Sorry, that is Scorsese and Spielberg, they actually have morals and values and won't let their films be falsely thought of like that. I say all this because An Ideal Husband really wasn't that funny. In fact I laughed as much in this as I did in Titanic. Both were fairly serious films with hints of comedy in them. But when watching the commercials for An Ideal Husband you are expecting to see a Jim Carrey movie. And that it wasn't.
An Ideal Husband worked for me because I was intrigued by the characters for the most part. But as the story goes, Robert has been in office in British Parliament for quite some time now. He is comfortable there and he has a beautiful wife as well. Suddenly, out of his past comes a mystery lady named Lady Cheveley. She knows about his tainted past and threatens to expose him unless he supports a bill that is about to be debated upon in the House Of Commons. She invested a hefty amount of money in some company that will be affected terribly by his speech in the House. He now has to decide if he is going to do the right thing and stick to his guns or if he is going to acquiesce to the blackmail.
The film is funny in some parts, that is for sure. But the Ideal Husband part of it is really just a sub plot. There is so much more to this film than women trying to find a suitable husband. And I wish that was told to us going into the film, perhaps it would be more popular. I'm not sure.
The film is richly acted from all participants and it has some witty dialogue, one of new favourite movie lines now is " No amount of money can buy back a man's past." Now that is powerful. What's done is done. A great line. But the movie also suffers from people doing things that you know they would not do. Namely, when life long friend Arthur tries to talk to Robert and explain some of his questionable actions, Robert just walks away and does not even give Arthur a chance to remedy the situation. When all he had to do was say "HEY" very loudly, " let me finish dammit. " That would avoid some of the confusion that the friends were encountered with.
I did enjoy the film despite my miscomings about it. Cate Blanchet is a joy to watch. She lights up the screen. But on a whole I was disappointed in some areas and it kept me from really enjoying it immensely. But ya know what? I'm in my late 20's. The crowd I saw it with was at least two generations older than me and they loved it. They even cheered at the end of the film. So maybe it is a film that is enjoyed better by someone that is not so caught up in the broohaha. Maybe this is a film to just be enjoyed and that means just sitting in the theater with your detectors off. Just enjoy. I guess that should be advice to myself. And maybe I'll take it sometime and give this film another chance.
An Ideal Husband worked for me because I was intrigued by the characters for the most part. But as the story goes, Robert has been in office in British Parliament for quite some time now. He is comfortable there and he has a beautiful wife as well. Suddenly, out of his past comes a mystery lady named Lady Cheveley. She knows about his tainted past and threatens to expose him unless he supports a bill that is about to be debated upon in the House Of Commons. She invested a hefty amount of money in some company that will be affected terribly by his speech in the House. He now has to decide if he is going to do the right thing and stick to his guns or if he is going to acquiesce to the blackmail.
The film is funny in some parts, that is for sure. But the Ideal Husband part of it is really just a sub plot. There is so much more to this film than women trying to find a suitable husband. And I wish that was told to us going into the film, perhaps it would be more popular. I'm not sure.
The film is richly acted from all participants and it has some witty dialogue, one of new favourite movie lines now is " No amount of money can buy back a man's past." Now that is powerful. What's done is done. A great line. But the movie also suffers from people doing things that you know they would not do. Namely, when life long friend Arthur tries to talk to Robert and explain some of his questionable actions, Robert just walks away and does not even give Arthur a chance to remedy the situation. When all he had to do was say "HEY" very loudly, " let me finish dammit. " That would avoid some of the confusion that the friends were encountered with.
I did enjoy the film despite my miscomings about it. Cate Blanchet is a joy to watch. She lights up the screen. But on a whole I was disappointed in some areas and it kept me from really enjoying it immensely. But ya know what? I'm in my late 20's. The crowd I saw it with was at least two generations older than me and they loved it. They even cheered at the end of the film. So maybe it is a film that is enjoyed better by someone that is not so caught up in the broohaha. Maybe this is a film to just be enjoyed and that means just sitting in the theater with your detectors off. Just enjoy. I guess that should be advice to myself. And maybe I'll take it sometime and give this film another chance.