Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England use the same pseudonym ('Ernest') on the sly, which is fine until they both fall in love with women using that name, which leads to a comedy of mistaken identities.
This adaptation of Oscar Wilde's classic play benefits enormously from a stellar cast — Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, and Judi Dench all deliver polished, charming performances that elevate the witty source material. The plot is inherently clever owing to Wilde's original construction, but this film adaptation adds little new to it — the screenplay hews closely to the stage play with modest cinematic imagination. Cinematography is competent and prettily captures Victorian England without being particularly inventive. Novelty suffers as this is a well-worn theatrical classic receiving a fairly straightforward screen treatment with minor updates. The ending resolves satisfyingly in Wilde's characteristic farcical fashion, though it offers no surprises for those familiar with the source.