An Ideal Husband

`An Ideal Husband` is one of Wilde`s lesser efforts but nevertheless, it requires an understanding of the comedy of manners to succeed in any medium. Unfortunately the director did not seem to grasp that the Wildean scene is very important to the truth of the piece. The costumes were dreadful. Look for Mrs. Cheveley`s left breast on her first appearance - it`s not there! Look at the puffing out of the waistcoat of Lord Goring when he is on the couch with Mrs. Cheveley. Look at the dreadful changes in Mrs. Chiltern`s hairdo and the hats were hideous throughout. Whoever cut the movie did so with a pinking shears. Little `ladies of the night` and glimpses of stocking are not Wildean - they are vulgar and Wilde HATED vulgarity. The whole character of the delightful Mabel was of course ruined by the knowing grimaces of Minnie Driver and I counted Rupert Everett`s pores several times. His stove pipe hat did nothing for his allure nor did his crooked cravat. Then the blurbs - riotously funny - side splitting etc. Wilde was not written for belly laughs or amateur dressmakers who chose all the wrong colours for the characters and the period. The Ballygobackwards Amateur Dramatic Society in Ireland could have done better. When I went to see the movie in London there were 14 women and one man in the audience and he left half way through. And what was a Lord doing in the House of COMMONS????? Look at Glynis Johns to see the real Mabel Chiltern and weep for this version.