If you blinked, you probably missed seeing this whimsical adaptation of a Noel Coward play when it was in theaters. Kim and I watched it this weekend on On Demand and thoroughly enjoyed being transported back to the era of the Lost Generation with the likes of Kristin Scott Thomas, Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes and an always-scrumptuous Colin Firth.
The premise: Stodgy British family with dysfunction as sizable as their sprawling estate grudgingly welcomes their spirited, scandalous siren of a daughter-in-law to the fold when prodigal son (Barnes) returns married to a gorgeous American race car driver (Biel).
What we loved: Firth and Thomas were naturally top-notch, and Jessica Biel managed to hold her own as the quirky-but-beautiful fish out of water. Her clothes alone are worth moving this one to the top of your Netflix queue. We also got a kick out of the soundtrack, which re-spun modern pop songs like Tom Jones' "Sex Bomb" and Billy Ocean's "When the Going Gets Tough" as breezy 1920s jazz tunes. Too clever.
I was thinking--Amy Adams would have been a good Larita...
ReplyDeleteI liked the movie but Biel was totally miscast! She's supposed to be the "older" woman.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I semi-agree with you. I had my doubts about Biel going in and she was a little distracting b/c i kept thinking, "Oh, there's Jessica Biel." That said, maybe I had low expectations for her, but she bothered me much less than I had anticipated and I actually found her charming and lovely in the role. (She was too young though, definitely.)
ReplyDeleteI was thinking--Amy Adams would have been a good Larita...
ReplyDeleteAnother one I haven't heard of, but will look for. Love Colin Firth (who doesn't?), and am becoming a fan of Ben Barnes (he's quite good in what I've seen him in). Just saw Dorian Gray last night, and though I didn't care for the adaption, the acting was brilliant.
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