An Ideal Husband (1999)

Every time I see or read one of Wilde's comedies I'm consistently impressed with his ability to play with language in unexpectedly funny ways. The guy had mad skills. That doesn't mean it will always translate well in modern Hollywood adaptations, though. In this version of An Ideal Husband, Jeremy Northam stars as Sir Robert Chiltern, a highly respected government official. His steadfast, intelligent, moralistic wife Gertrude (Cate Blanchett) is very involved in both his work and women's politics. Their best friend is Lord Arthur Goring (Rupert Everett), the typical Wildean, irreverent bachelor and dandy whose main activity is spouting witticisms. Robert's sister Mabel (Minnie Driver) has the hots for Arthur but he seems immune to/ignorant of her advances.

When the mysterious and (supposedly) alluring Mrs Cheveley (Julianne Moore) shows up, their sturdy lives are suddenly on the verge of falling apart. She knows the illicit origin of Robert's fortune and attempts to blackmail him into supporting a fraudulent canal scheme in which she's invested money. She's also an enemy of Gertrude's from their school days and has romantic designs on Arthur. Now Robert must choose between protecting his secret (of which even his wife is unaware) but losing his dignity, or staying true to his beliefs while seeing his career and marriage ruined. Arthur tries to protect his friend while warding off Mrs Cheveley and realizing his feelings for Mabel. There are various misunderstandings and fateful run-ins, all populated with witty banter, but you know it will all end with some happy couples arm in arm.

I really enjoy Wilde's comedic plays, though I admit I haven't yet read this one. Thus I can't make much comment on the film's merits as an adaptation. From the Wikipedia summary, I've gathered that there are several plot changes but nothing major. Wilde's plays are all about the dialogue, anyway, which wasn't always in top form here. Rupert Everett, born to play the Wildean dandy, got in some well-timed one-liners and topsy-turvy philosophical comments, but not all of the other actors seemed up to the task. Cate Blanchett felt very out of place and sort of flat, though I've never been the biggest fan of her anyway. I really dislike Julianne Moore in any context, even when playing a villain. She just came off as someone who thought she was slyer than she was, and delivered almost every line the same way (that is, annoyingly). I liked Minnie Driver though- Mabel's self-assuredness and often nonsensical lines reminded me of Reese Witherspoon's Cecily in the fabulous The Importance of Being Earnest. She wasn't in it very much, though.

All in all it's a fairly well-done upper-class farce but missed some of the marks with casting and writing. It's still an interesting story with some great characters and comedic moments. Everett is perfect and the real star, despite Northam's hero status, and almost completely carries the film. And I guess it doesn't matter much but some of the costumes were either atrocious or not period-appropriate. Basically, t's the kind of movie I'll pull out every once in a while and watch with my mom because we both like British literature, but wouldn't think too much about otherwise. Anyone who's read or seen the play can give a more helpful review, I'd imagine. I'll get around to it eventually.

3.5/5