''The Importance of Being Earnest'' is a 2002 romantic

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Oliver Parker Oliver Parker (born 6 September 1960) is a British film director, screenwriter and former actor. He is known for writing and directing the film adaptations of Shakespeare's '' Othello'' (1995) and Wilde's '' The Importance of Being Earnest'' (20 ...

, based on

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's classic 1895

comedy of manners In English literature, the term comedy of manners (also anti-sentimental comedy) describes a genre of realistic, satirical comedy of the Restoration period (1660–1710) that questions and comments upon the manners and social conventions of a gr ...

of the same name. The original music score is composed by

Charlie Mole Charlie Mole is a British/French film and television score composer and songwriter. His scores include '' An Ideal Husband'', '' Othello'', ''The Importance of Being Earnest'', '' The Diary of Anne Frank'', the 2007 and 2009 versions of '' St. Trin ...

. The film grossed $8.4 million in North America.

Plot

In this adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play about fake identities, two gentlemen in 1890s

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

use the same

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

, Ernest, for their secret courtship activities. Chaos ensues when both men find themselves face-to-face and have to explain who they really are.

Cast

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupi ...

as Algernon "Algy" Moncrieff * Colin Firth as John "Jack" Worthing/Ernest * Frances O'Connor as Gwendolen Fairfax *

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

as Cecily Cardew *

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

as Lady Bracknell *

Tom Wilkinson Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (born 5 February 1948)Born January–March 1948, according to the ''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is an English actor of film, television, and stage. He has rece ...

as Dr Chasuble *

Anna Massey Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 19373 July 2011) was an English actress. She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel ''Hotel du Lac'', a role that one of her co-stars, Julia McKenzie, h ...

as Miss Prism * Edward Fox as Lane *

Patrick Godfrey Patrick Lindesay Archibald Godfrey (born 13 February 1933) is an English actor of film, television and stage. Life and career Godfrey was born in Finsbury, London to Rev. Frederick Godfrey and Lois Mary Gladys ( née Turner). In 1956 Godfr ...

as Merriman

Production notes

Dame Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

portrayed Lady Bracknell for the third time, having been cast in the 1982 National Theatre revival and the 1995

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

adaptation. * Actress

Finty Williams Tara Cressida Frances "Finty" Williams (born 24 September 1972) is an English actress. Life Williams was born on 24 September 1972 in London, the only child of Judi Dench and Michael Williams. Williams trained at the Central School of Speech an ...

, who plays Lady Bracknell as a young dancer, is the daughter of Dame

, who plays the older Lady Bracknell. * The scene where Algernon slaps Jack on his rear end and where Algernon kisses Jack's cheek were ad libbed. Director Parker thought Firth's stunned reaction was so humorous he decided to leave it in. * The business with 'Ernest's' bill at the Savoy, and with the money collectors coming to Jack's country home, are taken from material Wilde cut from the play prior to its publication. * Though cut from the revised version, the

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner supplem ...

Molton can be seen in the background of many scenes. * The producers of the film paid £50,000 to use

West Wycombe Park West Wycombe Park is a country house built between 1740 and 1800 near the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It was conceived as a pleasure palace for the 18th-century libertine and dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Bar ...

as Jack's home in the country.

Release

''The Importance of Being Earnest'' grossed $8,384,929 domestically and $8,906,041 internationally for a worldwide total of $17,290,970, making the film a moderate box office success based on its $15 million budget.

Reception

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' awarded the film three out of four stars, saying the actors were well cast, and performed well. On review aggregate website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, as of September 2012, the film holds a 57% approval rating, with the consensus "Oliver Parker's adaptation of Wilde's classic play is breezy entertainment, helped by an impressive cast, but it also suffers from some peculiar directorial choices that ultimately dampen the film's impact."

Awards and nominations

The film won the 2003 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists's Silver Ribbon award for Best Costume Design, the movie's costumes being designed by Maurizio Millenotti.

was nominated for a

Teen Choice Award The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United ...

(Choice Actress – Comedy) for her performance as Cecily.

References

External links

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Where Did They Film that?
''The Importance of Being Earnest'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Importance Of Being Earnest, The (2002 film) 2002 romantic comedy films 2002 films American romantic comedy films British romantic comedy films 2000s English-language films Films based on The Importance of Being Earnest Films directed by Oliver Parker Films set in England Films set in the 1890s Films shot in England 2000s German-language films Films set in the Victorian era Films set in country houses Newmarket films 2000s American films 2000s British films