The Importance Of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest (Oliver Parker, 2002) [6]
I had to read Oscar Wilde’s play for a British Literature class, and subsequently we watched the latest film version in class. The problem inherent in making of a film of this play is that it isn’t a very long play, which means this film has some filler in order to get it to reach ninety minutes. I really don’t have much to say about this film. Wilde’s humor is consistently witty, and there are truly some really funny moments. But there is only so much I can take of lampooning upper class Victorian Britain; it’s not something that is that interesting to me. The material that was added to the film that wasn’t in the film doesn’t add anything else to the film and a couple of scenes added for comedy really don’t fit with Wilde’s humor. This film really isn’t supposed to be anything more than a filmed play, and director Parker is smart enough to stay within the boundaries that Wilde crafted. All in all, a breezy picture that no glaring faults that I can find.


By the way - I encourage anyone who is a rational thinking human being to support The Day Without Immigrant rallys and boycotts going on throughout the country today even though I'm being a total hypocrite and going to work. I still believe that all immigrants, illegal or not, deserve to have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else in this country.