Let's Misbehave!
A young Englishman marries a glamorous American. When he brings her home to meet the parents, she arrives like a blast from the future - blowing their entrenched British stuffiness out the window.
Genre(s): Comedy, Romance
Runtime: 97 minutes
Rating: 6.7/10 (3,412 votes)
Release Date: 8 September 2008
Country: UK, Canada
Languages: English, French
Company: Ealing Studios
Sound: Dolby Digital
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sexual content, brief partial nudity, and smoking throughout.
Director(s): Stephan Elliott
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Producer(s):
Joseph Abrams - producer
Paul Brett - executive producer
Alexandra Ferguson - co-producer
Louise Goodsill - executive producer
Douglas Hansen - executive producer
Ralph Kamp - executive producer
George McGhee - executive producer
Sophie Meyer - associate producer
Peter Nichols - executive producer
Tim Smith - executive producer
James Spring - executive producer
James D. Stern - producer
Barnaby Thompson - producer
Cindy Wilkinson Kirven - executive producer
Writer(s):
Stephan Elliott - written by &
Sheridan Jobbins - written by and
Noel Coward - based on the play by
Cast:
Jessica Biel - Larita Whittaker
Ben Barnes - John Whittaker
Kristin Scott Thomas - Mrs. Whittaker
Colin Firth - Mr. Whittaker
Kimberley Nixon - Hilda Whittaker
Katherine Parkinson - Marion Whittaker
Kris Marshall - Furber
Christian Brassington - Phillip Hurst
Charlotte Riley - Sarah Hurst
Jim McManus - Jackson
Music: Marius De Vries
Joseph Abrams - producer
Paul Brett - executive producer
Alexandra Ferguson - co-producer
Louise Goodsill - executive producer
Douglas Hansen - executive producer
Ralph Kamp - executive producer
George McGhee - executive producer
Sophie Meyer - associate producer
Peter Nichols - executive producer
Tim Smith - executive producer
James Spring - executive producer
James D. Stern - producer
Barnaby Thompson - producer
Cindy Wilkinson Kirven - executive producer
Writer(s):
Stephan Elliott - written by &
Sheridan Jobbins - written by and
Noel Coward - based on the play by
Cast:
Jessica Biel - Larita Whittaker
Ben Barnes - John Whittaker
Kristin Scott Thomas - Mrs. Whittaker
Colin Firth - Mr. Whittaker
Kimberley Nixon - Hilda Whittaker
Katherine Parkinson - Marion Whittaker
Kris Marshall - Furber
Christian Brassington - Phillip Hurst
Charlotte Riley - Sarah Hurst
Jim McManus - Jackson
Music: Marius De Vries
Posted on: May 28, 2009
April 6th, 2009
Although set in Rural England after the War Stephan Elliott has made avery relevant and now film. His intelligent film making will not bewasted on fun loving film goers as Easy Virtue is smattered withfantastic one liners and breathtaking cinematography. Only Elliottcould get away with flipping the camera to introduce the wonderful Bielas she enters a new life of structured mayhem. The belly aching laughslet us realize that a sense of humor is a necessity as today's highpressure stakes remove us from life's simple pleasures. The message issimple and the struggles real as virtue reminds us that keeping thefamily unit together is quite possibly the most demanding yetsatisfying task we will undertake in our lives, a task that no matterhow trying is essential to our own sanity! An outstanding cast deliverthe directors dreams in what has to be a timeless classic in the truesense of purist film making. You won't see big explosions or carsturning into robots but you will escape the outside world for 93minutes and enjoy the ride like a comedy trip on the holodeck.
April 8th, 2009
John Whittaker (Barnes) is travelling and falls in love with beautifulAmerican divorcée, Larita (Biel). After spontaneously getting married,John brings her back to his stately home in England, where althoughmany warm to her, she is largely frowned upon – especially by hisformidable mother, Veronica (Scott Thomas), who makes her stay asuncomfortable as possible. Based on the original play by Noel Coward,'Easy Virtue' encompasses sharp wit, romance and drama; and although itis set in 1920s England, it is far from the typical period drama thatmight be expected. The soundtrack is slightly risky in places with itsrearrangement of contemporary songs to period-music; but this can beoverlooked for everything else the film has to offer. Firth suppliesbrilliant one-liners as the war-weary husband of Veronica. Biel has acaptivating presence, bringing sexiness and classic Hollywood glamourto the screen; whilst Thomas, in total opposition, plays thestiff-upper-lipped English mother-in-law to perfection. A thoroughlyenjoyable British comedy.
April 30th, 2009
Loosely based on Noel Coward play of the same name, directed by Aussiedirector Stephan Elliot (yes of Priscilla Queen of the Desert), EasyVirtue is simply a cinematic joy. It sings with wit and high camp. Themusic is infectious…all ala 1920's.
Jessica Biel does quite nicely with her 'thorn in the side' role of thewicked divorcée/race car driver who steals the heart of Ben Barnes'character John Whitakker, son of British country aristocrats, much tohis mother's (Kristin Scott Thomas) displeasure. She is a welcomebreath of sultry air to his father though, played perfectly by ColinFirth. My question is why aren't there more movies like this? It's atthe Tribeca film Fest now and hopefully will open to wider distributionif well received!
May 18th, 2009
I loved this film When my hubby and I sat down to watch, we both atfirst thought the same thing, here's another boring stiff British film,and made by the BBC so probably just a period drama, in fact we nearlystopped watching it 5 minutes in! I'm so glad we didn't as it is now infact one of my favourite films. It is uncomplicated and a basic storybut the subtle and genuinely funny humour is very refreshing. There isno sex, violence, gore or swearing but a interesting and tongue incheek way to look at British family life in the early/mid 1900's. It isclear to follow what is happening between each person and very easy onthe eyes. It isn't in the same league as Notting hill but has the samefeel with a happy ending and funny bits. My advice if you don't mindBridget Jones and Notting hill type movies give it a go.
May 20th, 2009
Jessica Biel earns major respect here for taking on a very ambitioustask. "Easy Virtue" marks the first time she headlines her own movie,acting alongside powerhouses like Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth.It's based on a stage play by Noel Coward, which coincidentally wasfirst produced in New York in 1925. Usually I hear the words "stageplay from 1925" and I want to quickly build and jump into a timemachine but the movie is not only painless but it's absolutely lovableat the same time.
Biel plays Larita, a young American widow in the 1920's making herliving as a motorist. She's the first woman ever to win the Grand Prixin Monte Carlo, a feminist long before her time, which attracts theattention of Brit John Whittaker (Ben Barnes). It isn't long before thetwo are married and he's taking her home to his family's country manor.The matriarch of the house is Veronica Whittaker (Kristin ScottThomas), an icey, uppity, bitter woman who never lived much of a lifeof her own and sees Larita as a gold digger and a whore before she evengets to the house. Larita can tell that her mother-in-law doesn't likeher and tries very hard to adapt but only alienates herself further inthe process. John's father (Colin Firth), a Colonel in World War 1, isthe only one who cuts her any slack. He can't stand his family'sstuffiness either and sees Larita as a kindred spirit. A battle ofone-ups-man-ship soon takes over the house as Veronica desperatelytries to get rid of Larita, who refuses to back down.
The point of the play was a counteraction to British smugness anddirector Stephan Elliott, who co-wrote the screenplay with SheridanJobbins, keeps that basic principle intact. In Larita, summer has foundits unlikely hero, a woman who goes by the beat of her own drum, has astrong sense of self, and a backbone. Biel is dazzling in the leadrole, contributing a strong will, good comic timing, and an uninhibitedplayfulness that makes her even sexier. When Larita tangos in front ofthe family, you can feel the "F You" that she's laying down. KristinScott Thomas is perfect as her uptight and scheming foil and ColinFirth is a pro at delivering witty quips as well as digging deeper tocommunicate the things that haunt the character, whether they be WorldWar 1 or his own family.
The one-liners come fast and frequent. There are also some very wickedbigger laughs, most of which involve Larita's un-candid sexual nature.A panty-less can-can during a war widows revue is a howler. Another biglaugh involving a dog will make animal lovers cringe for sure. "EasyVirtue" is a comedy that works, one of the funniest I've seen all yearlong. The costume design is very good and the manor looks like a niceenough place to spend 2 hours of your time. It's only when Elliottturns on the musical soundtrack, with tunes old enough to make FrankSinatra look and sound like Eminem, that the movie really starts toshow its age. But no matter. If you're looking for a smart comedy withsome really excellent performances, "Easy Virtue" is truly virtuous.
May 23rd, 2009
There is very little to recommend this travesty of one of Noel Coward'sless exciting plays. For one thing, it's another one of these periodpieces that distorts the period in question with anachronistic musicand dialogue and plot situations. 90% of Coward's brittle, subtle wordplay is excised and replaced wholesale by a mishmash ofpseudo-Coward-ish repartee that falls flat more often than not; thesesubstitutions are further embellished by bits of slapstick. Thescreenwriters even reach into Coward's offstage banter for lines like"If you had a neck, I'd wring it." EASY VIRTUE was one of those drawingroom comedies in which stuffy old-fashioned people, remnants of theVictorian Age, were exposed by outsiders or upstarts in their midst asthe vile hypocrites they were. This exposure took the form of verbalexchanges in spacious interiors, and in the case of EASY VIRTUE, ofdramatically satisfying rants by the exasperated Larita, a middle-aged"woman with a past" who marries a callow youth from a traditionalfamily. It was the age when old social mores (money and land marryingmoney and land, sexuality suppressed, etc.) were breaking under thepressure of that demon Progress, and hastened by that Leveller, War,and were being supplanted by a new morality, that of "easy virtue." Inthis film, these themes are shouted out at us, discussed in detail,dramatized with underscoring and exclamation, whereas in the originalthey were gurgling beneath the surface.
Here we get an American actress, Jessica Biel, as Larita, who in reallife is YOUNGER than Ben Barnes, the actor who plays John Whittaker,the youth she marries! So the organic subtext of their relationship isthrown out from the start. And the pseudo-Cowardian dialogue turns tomush coming from her 21st century North American lips – it's likewatching a high school performance. She is never convincing. KristinScott Thomas as the youth's calculating to- the-manor-born mother,Katherine Parkinson as the repressed elder daughter and Kimberley Nixonas the excitable younger one, and Ben Barnes serve their parts wellenough. Colin Firth gives a strong performance as the father but theconception of his character seems weirdly out of synch with the 1920s,as crystallized in his dinner table remark that the AmericanThanksgiving holiday was like a commemoration of the genocide of theNative Americans – definitely not from Coward!
As if to compensate for the gutting of Coward's original dialogue, thefilmmakers inject snippets of Coward's own songs either on thesoundtrack, from Victrola records played by the characters or from themouth of John Whittaker to his wife. It's a pathetic waste of time.
May 26th, 2009
Very few people out there can call themselves stars. Some havebenefited from teaming with charismatic performers and surroundingthemselves from a fantastic public relations team. It's fantastic tosee when a relatively unknown performer bursts from the screen anddazzles us with her musical talent, her charisma, and most importantlyis able to show us her acting chops.
Kirsten Scott-Thomas has proved herself a superb performer, and it'salways a pleasure to see her films benefit from her exquisite looks,too. In "Easy Virtue". while playing the mother in law from hell, shemeets her match, in Larits (Jessica Biel), giving us a dazzling displayof fireworks, not seen since the classic 30's beauties graced thesilver screen. It's like watching the ghosts of Leigh, Lombard,Stanwyck, and Harlow inspire Biel to don some amazing outfits to matchher intense personality and dazzling charm, as she comes into anEnglish manor and tries to conquer old traditions.
Noel Coward's play is the basis for a comedy of manners delightfullyinterpreted by a very talented group of performers, led by Scott andThomas, a match made in heaven, as they try to outwit and outclass eachother with their respective resources. Scott-Thomas allies herself withother members of her class and an acid wit. Biel proves herself thatshe can hold her own with her natural talents and plenty of charm. Thedifference between these two women is that one is able to see throughthe defensive layers of others, wasting no time in hiding herself underany pretense or fearing anyone's criticism.
Biel is a woman with a past, someone who deals with the good and badlife has to offer and tries to make the best of it. "Easy Virtue" isBiel's film, and she has plenty of showpieces to demonstrate how farshe can go in the future. In particular, one is bound to agree that thepiece of Poopy's demise ranks among the funniest scenes ever put onfilm, and it will take forever to come down from the high of watchingBiel and Firth's musical number, and as if this is not enough, theopening number is flawlessly sung by her, too.
Prepare to have a grand time at the movies, with a film that has nodead time, plenty of gorgeous visuals, a terrific musical score, and apair of classic flawless diamonds at its center: Thomas and Biel,proving to us that there is still hope in Hollywood, and talent alwayscomes through.
May 28th, 2009
Never ever have i been so disappointed by going to the cinema's. Wewent to a sneak preview, the movie had only just began and already 5people left with in 5 minutes. The irritating music makes you want todo kill yourself and the annoying voices and slang is just pain for theears. I must say I've never walked out of the cinema's before the end,neither did the thought of it crossed my mind. Half of the people wereas happy as me when the break came so everybody could walk out. Out of50 people only 15 stayed and tortured them selfs more with thisrubbish.
Maybe when im 95 years old and demented than i might bare it thrue thewhole thing.
May 31st, 2009
A naive young English aristocrat (Ben Barnes) meets a dashing30-something American bleached blonde who races cars in Monte Carlo(Jessica Biel). He is smitten, they marry, and off they go to hisancestral estate where his mama (Kristen Scott Thomas) is antipathetic,his young sisters simpering and snide, and his papa (Colin Firth) veryfriendly. The butler (Kris Marshall) is naughty. This is the story arcof Noel Coward's obscure play as adapted by Australian Stephen Elliottwith help from Sheridan Jobbins. The settings and cars and clothes andhairdos (including Barnes' deliciously slicked back hair, Firth'sappealingly tousled locks, and Scott Thomas' tight Marcelle, which goeslong and dreamy during her melancholy bedroom aria) are all perfectlypost-World War I. But the rhythms and the humor are often leaden andanachronistic. Nor is any of the action ever as wicked as it seems towant to be.
It may be that the Australian director of the hyperkinetic drag saga'The Adventures of Pricilla, Queen of the Desert' lacked the brittlesense of irony required to do Noel Coward. Perhaps the originalmaterial itself is uncertain of tone, considering that Hitchcockdirected a dark thriller version of the play when in his twenties.Obviously Elliott's film is meant to be a comedy, but how funny isaccidentally sitting on a Chihuahua and crushing all its little bones,and then having to sit down on it again three times to hide thesituation as Biel must do when Scott Thomas and Barnes' sistersinopportunely appear? What this would really look like isn't somethingone wants to think about. The dark humor catches stride when theservants help conduct a secret burial for the poor canine, saying they"never liked the little bitch." But the surprisingly swift devolutionof Biel's and Barnes' marriage and the hostility of the femalerelatives just aren't funny.
And when the girls dig up embarrassing secrets from the blonde wife'spast, is that a giggle? Or when Firth talks about fighting in a battlewhere 20,000 men were killed in the first four minutes, chuckles? Tojazz things up, Elliott weaves in Noel Coward and Cole Porter songs andlyrics at every possible opportunity, even bad ones, like when it'sdrizzly and cold out for a tennis match and the soundtrack plays "MadDogs and Englishmen" ("Go out in the midday sun"). These excesses areannoying. The final number is completely anachronistic and in pointlesstaste. It's an orchestral version of Billy Ocean's "When the Going GetsTough, the Tough Get Going," with Biel and Barnes belting out thelyrics as the credits roll.
Bright and good-looking but clumsily written and continually out oftune, this is one of those misbegotten films whose best and potentiallymost amusing lines have all been stolen and shown off in the trailers.One wishes they could have been patched together with a better rhythmin the actual feature; but there aren't enough of them to fill a movie.
There are good moments, and despite the overdone songs, two of them aremusical. An amateur county theatrical reveals just why the cancan wasonce thought to be so naughty. And at a Christmas ball, Firth and Bieldo a tango that's both original and sexy.
Whatever failings there are can't be blamed on the cast. Jessica Biel('Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' 'I'll Be Home for Christmas,''Elizabethtown') hasn't exactly a good background in witty comedy, butshe handles herself very well, looking every bit the flapper diva andable to hold her own against the toughest British lady. That would beScott Thomas. Of course she delivers her just-slightly-over-the-tophaughty bitchiness quite perfectly, but she deserves better material.Firth isn't particularly in period or on tone, which is more a mater ofcasting than any fault in his acting. In the end this hardly matterssince he's irresistibly sympathetic as the scruffy, war-traumatizedhusband. Ben Barnes, who hit it big when he landed the role of PrinceCaspian in the 'Narnia' franchise two years ago, is not only charmingand dashing (in the naive way called for in the plot) but, despite abadly underwritten part, manages to seem the most like an appropriatelyshallow, giddy Noel Coward character of anybody in the cast — just thesort of Bright Young Thing who looks equally perfect in tennis whitesor tails, but is unsuitable for any sort of work. A pleasant surpriseis the hilariously wicked butler. One can only wish Ken Marshall asFurber had been given a bigger role. Not surprising to find Marshellwas in the cast of Frank Oz's extremely funny 'Death at a Funeral.' Onewishes these proceedings had the kind of momentum and drollery thatfilm does. But they don't. Instead, there are too many shots of theimposing facade, the horse and hound, the great hall, the highsolarium, the dashing period sports car. We don't need grandeur. Weneed to laugh.