Picture this. 1953 England. News of Nigel, Earl of Marshwood’s, engagement to a Hollywood star, Miranda Frayle breaks. Nigel’s mother, Felicity (Julie Andrews) tries not to let this disappoint her – she wanted better things for her son. Peter (Colin Firth), Nigel’s cousin, tries to calm Felicity down. She's throwing a party – but the older members of the village won’t let Felicity forget that Nigel (Edward Atherton) is marrying ‘beneath him’.
As Felicity prepares to meet her son’s fiancee, the whole household starts to make plans for his return home. Moxie (Sophie Thompson), Felicity’s devoted maid, tries to give her notice in and, after further investigation, it is revealed that Miranda Frayle is actually Moxie’s sister! They haven’t seen each other for 20 years.
Between Creswell the butler, (Stephen Fry) and Lady Marshwood, they cook up a plan so that Moxie becomes ‘an equal’ to her famous sister.
Meanwhile Hollywood actor Don Lucas (William Baldwin), jumps on a plane to win back his beloved Miranda …
And that’s the basic outline of the plot! I can’t really give too much away as at just under one and a half hours long, that would be spoiling the rest of the film.
* What I thought *
Firstly – hello! Julie Andrews is in this film. Say no more! The Mack just LURVES her! Unfortunately in Relative Values she does not sing, or indeed, single handedly run a household with children wearing green curtains but hey, you can’t have everything. She is more ‘Mary Poppins’ in this – very much the lady of the household and holding her family together in that prim and proper English way! You just feel you can always rely on Julie in a crisis!
This film has a great cast – Jeanne Tripplehorn plays Miranda Frayle and really shines as the Hollywood star, always looking immaculate and wearing red lipstick and nail varnish, torn between her boring English fiancé and her exciting ex lover. Billy Baldwin plays a bit of a clown – determined to win his lady back and becoming the centre of attention with the local girl guides in the village when his sports car roars up Lady Marshwood’s drive to claim his woman. The residents can’t believe their luck at having two American film stars in their village!
There’s lots of funny moments in the film, Colin Firth is very laid back as cousin Peter and is Lady Marshwood’s constant companion. He sits back and watches as the household is turned upside down with Moxie’s transformation. This is along the lines of ‘My Fair Lady’ – complete with Moxie's ‘posh’ new accent. I very much enjoyed Firth's performance and his dry sense of humour.
Stephen Fry as the butler trying to keep the peace within the household is another character worth mentioning. He seems to be the shoulder to cry on and all round ‘Mr Nice Guy’ (another smooth talking bar steward role perchance?!)
* Overall *
This was a very likeable film with some amusing lines especially from Colin Firth. A great cast makes this very watchable and I loved the fact that it had a mixture of English people and Americans. Also some very pretty countryside included!
This film is about how Hollywood stars transform a small Kent village and more notably Lady Marshwood’s home and lifestyle.
Five stars from me. It’s a good family film that everyone can enjoy. More or less everything you can hope for in a movie – a bit of romance, confusion, dressing up, glamourous people .. and Julie Andrews! Heaven.
* Extras *
Play Trailer Audio and subtitles – English subtitles and director’s commentary Chapter selection
* Other information *
85 mins approx rated PG Director – Eric Styles Based on a play by Noel Coward
Price £5.99 www.play.com (I got it free with Eve magazine a few months ago!)
Thanks for reading!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
1950's England. Nigel the eligible earl Of Marshwood announces his engagement to the ... more
beautiful Miranda Frayle. Nigel's mother takes the news with a stiff upper lip but privately she's appalled to hear her son and heir is to marry of all things a Ho...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
1950's England. Nigel, the eligible earl Of Marshwood, announces his engagement to the ... more
beautiful Miranda Frayle. Nigel's mother takes the news with a stiff upper lip but privately she's appalled to hear her son and heir is to marry, of all things, a Ho...
![Relative Values [DVD] [2000]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78538081.jpg "Relative Values [DVD] [2000]")
Jan 6th, 2004
very helpful by (100%):
