Easy Virtue
By Marshall Fine
Rating:
Who's in it: Jessica Biel, Colin Firth
What's it about: A British gentleman (Ben Barnes) brings his new American wife (Jessica Biel) home to meet his stiff upper-class family.
Modern feel: Though it's based on a Noel Coward comedy, there aren't many laughs in this tale of a restless young woman who is rubbed raw by her new in-laws' stuffy approach to everyday life. Though Kristin Scott Thomas is snooty enough to be funny as the mother-in-law, and Colin Firth knows his way around a laugh line, Biel seems out of place with the snippy dialogue. She's a good actress, but she's miscast in this role of a woman who is judged too quickly by her new family. The modern touch that's been applied to a story set in the 1920s doesn't make it funnier, just more brittle.
Long story short: This one is easy to ignore.
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