Easy Virtue MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +2 Content: +2 1/2

Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas. Comedy/drama. Written by Sheridan Jobbins, Stephan Elliott. Directed by Stephan Elliott.

FILM SYNOPSIS: John Whittaker, a young Englishman, falls madly in love with Larita, a glamorous American sportswoman, and they marry impetuously.  However, when the couple returns to the family home, his mother, Mrs. Whittaker, takes an instant dislike to her new daughter-in-law.  Larita tries her best to fit in but fails to tiptoe through the minefield laid by her mother-in-law.  A battle of wits ensues and sparks soon fly with Mrs. Whittaker manipulating every situation to undermine the lively American, while Larita remains frustratingly calm and engineers sassy counterattacks.  Before long, Mrs. Whittaker starts to work on John and Larita’s love for one another and in a grand finale, where the secrets from her past are revealed, Larita finally makes a break for freedom from the suffocating house.

PREVIEW REVIEW: It’s a very lookable film with its captivating cinematography, stylish set design, stimulating score and pleasant pacing. Director Stephan Elliott (Eye of the Beholder) easily moves the narrative from lighthearted drawing room comedy to a more dramatic look at the dynamics of family life. I also appreciated the fact that this moderned-up Noel Coward 1920s English period piece managed to avoid crudeness and profanity. And I congratulate Jessica Biel for taking on a role where she actually gets to act. Alas, she’s not really up to the challenge. I kept thinking of who would have brought a more charismatic brashness to the role. A 30-something Katherine Hepburn, or a 30-something Meryl Streep, or even a 30-something Renee Zellweger, who could have combined her Chicago Roxie Hart with Miss Potter’s Beatrix and brightened up the screen. Unfortunately, Ms. Hepburn is no longer with us and Ms. Streep and Ms. Zellweger are no longer 30-something.

Two things are needed with a script that features comic character study – perceptive and witty dialogue (given here) and the right casting of the lead role (oops). Still, it’s not a bad movie and it’s a pleasure to view a movie where entertainment doesn’t rely on car chases and CGI effects. Not that there’s anything wrong with those film elements. It’s just that I suspect we’re in for a lot of them this next month or so. Easy Virtue may be one of the last opportunities for a while for us see a movie where characters banter with abandon while a Jeeves-like butler serves the cocktails.

DVD Alternative: Jeeves & Wooster. P. G. Wodehouse’s celebrated comic adventures of a befuddled English gentleman and his wise gentleman’s gentleman. Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie star, and the entire four-year English series is available on DVD. If you can’t find it, come on over. I have the whole series. Just bring the Earl Grey.

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Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics