The Importance of Being Earnest

Jack Worthing (Firth) has invented a brother, Earnest, in order to leave the dull country and visit lovely Gwendolyn (O'Connor), the daughter of the formidable Lady Bracknell (Dench), in London. His best friend Algernon Montcrieff (Everett), who is Gwendolyn's cousin, also has a make-believe chum named Bunbury to get Algy out of boring situations. Then Algy decides to pose as Earnest in order to woo Jack's country ward, Cecily (Witherspoon). But when everyone ends up together, chaos threatens. Based on the play by Oscar Wilde and filled with bon mots, director Parker felt compelled to "open up" the production, which only works some of the time. But the performances are all delightful and Witherspoon manages her English accent quite nicely.