An Ideal Husband: Critic Reviews

An enjoyable, minor, lustrously shot revamping of Oscar Wilde's play about the perpetually interlocked manners of love and deception.

[The] film is hardly memorable, but it's amusing enough for two hours, and it never panders or cloys.

Parker has made a sensible cinematic translation of Wilde's play, intercutting scenes which would have been played consecutively on the stage.

An Ideal Husband works because Wilde created an expert mechanism (kind of slow-motion serious screwball comedy) for manipulating the plot and characters.

Much of the four acts of An Ideal Husband, a serious comedy, is constructed out of flip one-liners, most of which remain, though Parker has added a few, all unworthy of the master.

Smooth-flowing direction, a shrewdly pruned script and a top-flight ensemble cast that visibly relishes both the dialogue and one another's perfs make this a tony item for upscale, mature audiences.

[I]t's likely that Mr. Wilde, who once wrote, 'A poet can survive anything but a misprint,' would have been less than thrilled with the result.

Parker, who himself adapted Wilde's play for the movie, takes what to purists may be an unforgivable number of liberties with the story, fleshing out the plot and even adding dialogue.

An irresistible concoction of brilliant dialogue, sumptuous set design, top-notch acting, and a plot littered with Machiavellian twists.

Wilde was always about lots more than witty repartee, and as sparkling as his play is as drawing-room comedy, it reveals his concern with the timeless values of unselfish love and forgiveness.

Quality comedy with a sprinkling of romance, skilfully assembled by a director with a clear feel for the material. Performances are universally great and the dialogue, of course, is superb.

It's lavish, clever entertainment, a welcome opportunity to laugh without shame.

It's a pleasant diversion but sadly, little more than a chance to hear Rupert's barbed wit.

The exquisite teamwork and byplay make the film such a delight to watch.

All the other performances -- from Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver, Julianne Moore, John Wood and Peter Vaughan -- are first rate.

Certain stretches truly sparkle, but the movie is not as inventive as The Winslow Boy, nor as relaxed and goofy as Midsummer[night's Dream].

Rupert Everett goes buck wild (okay, Oscar Wilde) in this Victorian comedy of manners and romance.

An ideal alternative to the onslaught of Hollywood summer films.

It is sad that this kind of dialogue is seen so infrequently in modern films; Wilde had a way with words unparalleled in this century.

Alas, something went wrong between stage and screen...

A movie whose few imperfections never detract from its elegant characters and intriguing plot.

While it would have been easy to simply rely on the strength of Wilde's writing to carry the project, Parker and his cast never give any less than their very best...

Say what you will about Miramax's alleged underhanded business practices and big-bucks campaigns to buy itself Academy Awards, the studio definitely knows how to package a satisfying movie adaptation of a classic of English Literature.

All this less-than-ideal Husband proves is there are few folks who have the sense to leave classic text alone.

The drama boasts a treasure trove of witty dialogue and some fascinating characters who are forced to prioritize their values in strange circumstances.