Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

edchin2006 The acting is OK; the production values are fine - so, what's the problem? - You have to sit through a story about people you could hardly care less about just to hear an occasional "bon mot". And it is a bit amusing - if you're a colonial reveling in the foibles of the English - maybe.Maybe Merchant-Ivory could've done something with this. My upper-lip gets stiffer just at the thought of viewing this again. I don't have the strength. A sturdy Anglophile could sit through this, though.Also, these period/costume pieces leave me searching for the context of the action and I can't help but think of the faded Glory which was the British Empire.

Martin Bradley This screen version of the Oscar Wilde play is gorgeous to look at, has an all-star cast and opens out the action superbly. I'm still not quite sure what audience the producers hoped to attract but then who would ever have guessed a movie entitle "Shakespeare in Love" would win the Oscar as the year's best picture.Of course, Wilde's original play isn't quite in "The Importance of Being Earnest" class, (and in a nice touch the characters here attend a performance of that very play), but director Oliver Parker pulls out all the stops and the end result is very entertaining. The epigrammatic Wilde character is Lord Goring and Rupert Everett fits the part like a well-tailored glove but again it's the women who hold court and both Cate Blanchett, (Lady Chiltern), and Julianne Moore, (the very devious Mrs. Cheveley), are excellent while Jeremy Northam is a surprisingly effective Sir Robert. Indeed. it's hard to fault the piece. I'm sure and intelligent and grown-up audience will agree.

Mark Heiliger Ain't no wit like Oscar Wilde's wit 'cause Oscar Wilde's wit don't stop! I wish I could carry on a conversation like the characters in An Ideal Husband or any of Wilde's other stories. The world he creates with his words is like a giant stage only built to give his characters an opportunity to have crackling dialogue and witty asides. This humor rarely got anything larger than a chuckle out of me, but it was so constant that my gut hurt at the end of the movie. Better to have a movie filled to the brim with quiet, downplayed jokes than a movie built around two or three "big laughs" like an Adam Sandler vehicle.But this isn't one of those - it's a vehicle for Oscar Wilde's witty writing. I hate to keep using the word "witty," but that does seem the most appropriate term. The thesaurus tells me that good replacement words might be "intelligent" or "whimsical," but those don't feel right, no no. Because the character of Lord Goring, whom you will find on the DVD cover played by Rupert Everett, is not "bright" or "smart" or even "epigrammatic." He is witty, and that is that. He is spoiled and self-indulgent, but one cannot deny his gift of wit - his ability to go through life spinning any seriousness into a joke has given him an inherent superiority over the rest of his community. Life is never a drag, it's always a party. Until it isn't.One of his old flames comes into town to do some business with a close friend, Sir Robert Chiltern, who has much political power. This woman, Mrs. Chevely (a devilish Julianne Moore), happens to know some damaging information about Robert's past and blackmails him into publicly supporting a particular scheme she has invested in. It's really an unexpected turn for a story that starts so light and comical (unless you're already familiar with Wilde's work). The drama between Goring, Cheveley, Chiltern, and his wife is sometimes tense, sometimes funny, and sometimes bittersweet. The story operates not only as a romantic comedy, but also as a political drama and blackmail thriller. One scene that serendipitously brings all of the principals together at Goring's house manages every emotional low and high within the span of a single 10 or 15-minute scene.I must say, however, that much of this tale depends too heavily on coincidence and silence to create its drama. Every story contains some amount of coincidence, and this was originally a play - a cast of dozens wasn't possible, so all manner of problems had to exist between these certain people and those people alone. I can forgive that much even in an adaptation. But so much conflict could have been avoided if these characters simply talked to each other about the obstacles they faced. Too often a character will be about to say something, then stop, as if it would be rude to continue. These silences are not played well. It looks not like a character is so distraught he or she is unable to speak, but merely like they decided to say nothing further, and no one could change their minds. It feels arbitrary, not natural.That's all direction though, not only the actors. For the most part, the entire cast is wonderful. This movie makes me long for more like it, not in setting and subject matter necessarily, but in its wit. Hollywood makes movies based around a catchy concept instead of a cast of characters (unless the character IS the concept, like in Bubble Boy). This isn't anything new, but An Ideal Husband made me see it with new eyes. Maybe I should start up Stage Plays With Mark...http://www.movieswithmark.com

Gordon-11 This film is about a lady blackmailing a respectable lord, causing many merry misunderstandings and mischiefs in the subsequent days.Oscar Wilde adaptations always lighten up my heart. They are witty, merry and brings a smile to your face. The secret to his plays is that the viewers know something the characters do not. It is the same in The Ideal Husband, where the viewers know quite many things more than Robert Chiltern does. The dialogs are witty and elegant. The sets are lavish and grand as I would expect from the nobles. The best of all is Cate Blanchett's acting, she is able to delivery a wide range of emotions throughout with relative ease. This film is certainly entertaining to watch.