Near the end of this picture one of the characters says 'Well, nothing much has happened' and they were very right. This is a lightweight confection, mildly amusing at most and probably best suited to a female audience over 60.
It is certainly not from one of Coward's best plays and seems to hold back just when some broad farce (which it badly needed) was about to begin. The class theme and story seems terribly dated now as does the horror of an aristocratic family marrying an American (or so we are led to believe) but I suppose we have to remember this was written only a decade and a half after the King had to abdicate to marry an American.
Stephen Fry gives good value as the butler and Colin Firth is cast rather against type as a bitchy queen and has the best scene in the film with Baldwin, aping scenes from Casablanca.
Julie Andrews plays Julie Andrews as ever, so no change there then.
I'll be generous and give it 6/10.
It is certainly not from one of Coward's best plays and seems to hold back just when some broad farce (which it badly needed) was about to begin. The class theme and story seems terribly dated now as does the horror of an aristocratic family marrying an American (or so we are led to believe) but I suppose we have to remember this was written only a decade and a half after the King had to abdicate to marry an American.
Stephen Fry gives good value as the butler and Colin Firth is cast rather against type as a bitchy queen and has the best scene in the film with Baldwin, aping scenes from Casablanca.
Julie Andrews plays Julie Andrews as ever, so no change there then.
I'll be generous and give it 6/10.