Stars in Love

This is based on a Noel Coward play, so you should know what to expect.

It is very nicely done - the locations look great (Isle of Man standing in for Kent), the cars and clothes are fabulous, and the casting is excellent. Stephen Fry plays a butler (again) with some Jeevesian touches, but is pretty low-key. Colin Firth plays against type in the role Coward so obviously designed for himself - and is funny (again, not something one expects from Firth). Jeanne Tripplehorn looks suitably glamorous as the Hollywood star, and Baldwin This does make a few digs at class and snobbery, but it is really a bit of fluffy comedy to pass a pleasant hour.

Most of the criticism has been because the gags of Noel Coward about class are not so funny now as they were then. But that is just to judge the film by the play. It's *mildly* funny - I dozed at the beginning but then woke up when I realised how enjoyable it was. The real gems are the superb performances all the way through and the way English and American life, mannerisms and etiquette of the 50's (when they were far more distinct) are portrayed so touchingly. Luxuriate in a nice comfy cinema seat (if they have them near you) and be pampered by it!

Relative Values was never given a Broadway production during the lifetime of Noel Coward. It only made it there in 1986 thirteen years after Noel died. But in the original British production the star was the formidable Gladys Cooper. She's in the role of Duchess of Marchwood so Julie Andrews had some big shoes to fill.

I'll have to say that Andrews did it good style and a British production of even a second line Noel Coward work is better than a lot that is around. What I found interesting that with his various trips across the pond Coward felt comfortable enough to put some American characters in his work.

Andrews is the mother of Edward Atterton who is a well known jet setting playboy who always comes home to mother especially when things go spectacularly bad or good. Depending on your point of view he arrives home with American movie star Jeanne Tripplehorn in tow who is on the rebound from a breakup. They're going to be married, a fact that does not please mother.

Neither does it please William Baldwin who is an action film star of the era, late Forties when the play was written. He's who Tripplehorn is on the rebound from and he wants her back. He knows full well that Tripplehorn would be bored to tears as the lady of the manor in training in the quiet English countryside.

Add to all of that Sophia Thompson is personal maid to Andrews and she's Tripplehorn's long lost sister. It all comes to a head when Tripplehorn starts spouting off the invented studio biography where Thompson who has a fake status of her own for the occasion just explodes and these two have a cat fight to beat all.

Observing all this are butler Stephen Fry and cousin Colin Firth who seems to be a permanent house guest. They get the lion's share of the Coward wit in the dialog. This is Coward who was the pet of the English society. But Coward's third voice in the film is that of Thompson. Coward came from some pretty humble background and she also might very well be modeled on Coward's good friend from adolescence Gertrude Lawrence who also came from most modest means.

Relative Values was a pleasure to see because other than his really acclaimed work like Blithe Spirit or Private Lives, too little of Coward is played today. We could certainly use some of his wit now. I often wonder what Coward would have made of some of the events of the last forty years.

What can I say?

I loved this movie. It is a classic comedy of manners. Written by bitch extrodinaire Noel Coward, the movie sparkles with wit and one-liners. Colin Firth plays the resident bitch (very much a Noel Coward type characture). Julie Andrews is in fine form as the matriarch fearing her son is going to marry beneath the family by marrying Hollywood starlet Jeeane Tripplehorn, who looks gorgeous in this film.

Mad servants and stuck-up butlers abound, this movie is a real find.

And final praise must go to the person who steals this movie from under the very esteemed company, and that is Sophie Thompson as ladies maid Moxie. The dinner scenes where she is getting drunker, and drunker is the funniest parts of a very funny movie.

To be recommended.

My first thought when I first watched this movie was of how similar it was to the writing styles of P.G. Wodehouse and the famous English playwright Oscar Wilde. The storyline starts off deceptively simply and slowly builds in complexity until a frenetic climax explodes all over the viewer. It is virtually impossible to try and explain the plot to someone because it simply has too many twists and turns.

This movie is an unusual one for Ms. Tripplehorne in that she plays a glamorous Grace Kelly/Marilyn Monroe-esque movie star instead of her usual supporting actress role. I thought it was a lovely change and she did a stunning job capturing the mannerisms and acting style of the era. The little movie clip of her and "Don Lucas" in the preposterously titled 'A Kiss in the Dark' was so (very bad) Casablanca that I just had to laugh.

The story progressed beautifully with little touches of absurdity in just the right places, such as the poor unfortunate maid walking (read 'running') the dogs across the manor grounds. And because good comedy comes in threes, we see her three times throughout the movie.

But for me, the real winner in this movie is Colin Firth's role as Peter, the ubiquitous nephew-in-residence. His lines are delivered beautifully, but it is his facial expressions, and soft, unspoken mimicry of Miranda Frayle that really clinch it. His smart-aleck remarks are tempered with just enough Britishness to keep them from being outright obnoxious. It's lovely to see him in a role that must have been so much fun.

On the whole, I thought the movie was marvelous. It's full of deliciously sketched characters, masterfully crafted dialogue, very effective camera work, beautiful costumes and props, and of course, ridiculous coincidences that serve to drive the plot towards its inevitable conclusion. A great movie to enjoy yourself and also to recommend to your mother or anyone else with discriminating taste.