Wednesday Reviews: King's Speech

Let's face it, I love and adore Colin Firth. So of course I was going to see The King's Speech. I've seen everything else he's in (including the utterly humorous St. Trinian's and the truly horrible What a Girl Wants.)

This movie did not disappoint, despite my high hopes for Colin Firth and an historical setting. *le sigh* OK, so I may be biased given my Colin love...just a bit. But let's face it, he rocked in this roll. You can see the growth from the quiet Bertie to the King who doesn't stutter when addressing his people on the eve of World War 2. Not many actors can play a roll with only facial expressions (I'm talking the classics like Cary Grant etc.) but Colin always pulls it off.

Geoffrey Rush was, as always, superb. If there's a part he can't play, I've yet to see it. And the same equitable and long suffering qualities you see in pretty much everything he plays (including Barbosa) can be found here. I found it ironic that Jennifer Ehle (Elizabeth Bennett in BBC's Pride and Prejudice) was Myrtle Logue, Rush's character’s wife.

(Am wondering if they cast that specifically. I've noticed that several Colin Firth films have either copious references to Mr. Darcy like St. Trinian's or that somehow the writers/directors/actors manage to get a dig in at some movie he did.)

Helen Bonham Carter...she's an actress that has a diverse acting background yet I found to be a perfectly wonderful addition as the roll of the Queen Mum. Granted, I can't picture her as the adorable 101 year old woman with the Corgis in perfectly matching hat, coat, shoes, and white gloves shaking hands with everyone and always with a smile on her face, but as a younger woman, yup. Totally there. Of course, this wasn’t about her, and it’s a shame she’s more background character than anything but the story is about Bertie and Lionel and the friendship there.

Guy Pearce...I kept thinking he looked familiar, that I'd seen him in something. According to IMDB, only this. But I did discover he played Errol Flynn in Flynn. And I'd never heard of the movie let alone seen it. I suspect it'll be bad and a huge disappointment, and filled with half-truths from that biography I read years ago that I can't remember the title of but was subsequently debunked. Alas, if I can sit through What a Girl Wants, I can sit through this. Cause it's about Errol Flynn!

Lots of familiar themes like friendship over class boundaries and the power of other's beliefs in you. But it's a classic for a reason, and that reason is that we all enjoy happy endings, whether it's good over evil or personal triumph over some sort of adversity.

Curiosities and reviews

Without fail, my post on Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife is the most popular thing on this blog. Over 400 views since March 31, 2010.

Is it because of the material-Jane Austen? Is it because I was less than polite in my review?

• Yes I could have sugar coated it, and as I already admitted, I adored it the first time I read the book. Could have been because I was enamored with the first P&P variation I'd read, I don't know but the back story info dump was too much.

Because I changed my review between the two readings?

• My original review stands on Amazon and I won't change it. There are over 500 reviews posted there now with a average of 3 stars. (Polarized almost evenly between 5 stars ad 1 star, with a smattering in the middle) All in all, I suppose my second review falls more in line with the majority, though I've never really cared about that.

Does anyone like the review? Hate it? Agree or disagree with it? Even read it or are they directed to my blog from elsewhere because of the topic and don't bother?

I'm so curious, I wish someone would tell me!!

And this Friday, my guest will be Wendi Zwaduk who's talking about how to act naturally and her new release, Careless Whisper.

Wednesday Reviews

Just a reminder: over on Unusual Historicals the month of April we're talking about News and Media. My post on April 5 was on William Randolph Hearst. Check it out!

Last week I talked about Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife. This week, it's the sequel, Darcy & Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley. (I got this copy from the library.)


It took me weeks to get through this book. I'm not a slow reader, and while I admit to other distractions (writing, allergies, work, Percy Jackson, my continuing Colin Firth love) this book needed to be trimmed.


I found the characterization to be off: Lady Catherine didn't seem very Lady Catherine-ish, more of a stereotypical mother trying to advance herself in society. She made amateurish mistakes I can't envision her doing. Gerogiana had grown and matured, but not to the point where her character ended, I felt it was more of a leap, less of a growth. as for poor Col. Fitzwilliam, he was regulated into the background, a stoop for others to play off of.


The history was excellent, utterly well done, and used to perfection here.


As for Darcy and Elizabeth themselves, I felt there wasn't quite enough of them. I enjoyed their parts, I enjoyed the interaction and growth between them, but there was something missing. It may have had to do with the other characters and their excessive back stories and plots. Do I care about Lydia and Wickham? No. Do I care about Lady Catherine and Anne? No.


However, I will admit to liking Jane and Bingley in this story more than even in Pride and Prejudice. Excellent plotting there.


Overall, I give it 3.5 stars. While still a slow read, in need of more dialog, I did finish it and enjoyed the ride.

Wednesday Reviews: Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife

Once upon a time I read this and loved it. I remember giving it 4 stars. I remember devouring it in a couple days. Due to my Colin Firth kick (don't start on me!) I am now going through Pride and Prejudice variations (as anyone who follows me on Twitter knows). So I took Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife off the shelf and read it again.

What on earth was I thinking?

4 stars? Maybe 2.5 stars. Sure, it was done in the P&P style, very little dialog with long loooonnnnggggg paragraphs of exposition on characters that had no real propose to the story. Background dumps from the time of birth until their relevance to the story. Wow, did I not care.

Skim.

Detail upon detail with no dialog about interactions between Elizabeth and Darcy.

Skim.

More information about Lady Catherine, Georgiana, Wickham, and Jane and Bingley than I cared to know.

Skim.

I couldn't finish it and so donated it the library since our copy was missing. And yet...and yet what did I do? *sigh* Glutton for punishment that I am, I checked out its sequel Darcy & Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley. I'll review that next week.