The Importance of Being Earnest
Miramax Films | Release Date: May 22, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
7
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
Director Oliver Parker (An Ideal Husband) -- who also adapted the screenplay to include aspects from Wilde's unrevised four-act version of the play -- embraces the material with great gusto, delivering as charming and irresistible a film as one could demand.
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The real importance of "Earnest" is the thrill of brilliant repartee. And as we laugh, an amazing thing happens: Oscar Wilde comes alive. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderHank Sartin
It's a jaunty adaptation, almost screwball. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
With all this raw material, it's a puzzlement and an annoyance that Parker feels so obligated to interpose fantastic elements and comic action sequences and other tacky touches. As a result, while this "Earnest" is lively fun, it never quite feels sufficiently important. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeLoren King
A delightful alternative to most current multiplex fare, which wouldn't recognize a juicy bon mot if it tripped over one in the aisle. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The important thing about "The Importance" is that all depends on the style of the actors, and Oliver Parker's film is well cast. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Hearing Wilde's pithy lines in her mouth -- ''London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained 35 for years'' -- is worth the ticket price. In the end it's Dench who reminds us of the importance of enjoying Oscar Wilde. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
The film seems content with the more modest ambitions of a romantic comedy, albeit one with unusually potent wit and intricate construction. The old Ealing could never have afforded Parker's deluxe treatment of the material; the new Ealing seems to have forgotten the benefits of economy. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
The result is a film that is at best highly uneven and perversely at odds with itself. Luckily, Wilde's delicious sense of absurdity and peerlessly witty dialogue are pretty indestructible, and "Earnest" itself remains a peerless comedy of manners. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
For all its distractions and additions, The Importance of Being Earnest is still a reasonably entertaining costume comedy. Wilde's satirical voice may be muffled, but at least it is audible. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Mercifully, the supporting cast saves the day by grasping clearly that in a comedy of manners you have to act mannered, though not to the point of situation comedy. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Tonally, however, Earnest boasts perfect pitch, thanks mainly to the blithe, nimble actors. Read full review
70
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Everett, whose scenes with Firth are a droll delight, nails every sly laugh. And Witherspoon adds her own legally blond American sparkle to this British party. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Great fun, but it's just a tad this side of being overproduced. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Parker's afraid that we'll be bored by the language alone, so he throws in absurdities. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Despite good taste and good will, this romp through Victorian parlors frequently falls flat on its rump. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
With this cast, this director, and this source material, I expected to be swept away on a wave of enchantment, but nothing close to that happened. Read full review
63
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Wilde's masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, may be the best play of the 19th century. It's so good that its relentless, polished wit can withstand not only inept school productions, but even Oliver Parker's movie adaptation. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Written to skewer the upper class of its time, the script is now just a broad joke-fest, clever lines batted back and forth like badminton shuttlecocks.
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Amounts to a complete misreading of Wilde, who used the conventions of artifice to lampoon artificiality. Parker totally misses the point by tacking on such cinematic curlicues -- apparently, in his eagerness to seem movie-friendly, he's too hung up on the importance of not being earnest. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Resonates and inspires rapid-fire bouts of laughter, perhaps even a few giggles from the author himself, whom posterity has rewarded the last laugh. Read full review
60
SalonStephanie Zacharek
This well-cast adaptation somehow feels obvious and overblown. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Everett remains a perfect Wildean actor, and a relaxed Firth displays impeccable comic skill. Read full review
60
NewsweekDavid Ansen
This may be a less than ideal “Earnest,” but it still has delights, not least of all Anna Massey’s Miss Prism, Cecily’s dotty tutor, and Tom Wilkinson’s Dr. Chasuble, her clergyman admirer.
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
These actors have a firm playful grasp and a palpable affection for their characters' befuddled dignity and attraction. They understand what Wilde meant by the importance of being earnest. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The antics are wacky -- but far from Wilde. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Parker "opens up" a play that was perfectly wonderful closed down. Wilde subtitled his masterpiece "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People." This movie seems intent on being a trivial comedy for trivial people. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
In all his misguided enthusiasm, Parker has mustered enough bluster to fill up a zeppelin, blowing harder and harder, for something more and more fanciful. But with so much hot air, the bubble is bound to burst, and so it does in Parker's blundering adaptation. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The result is a frustrating, boring mess. Read full review
20
VarietyRobert Koehler
A comedy in the last century and a drama in the new one. At least, that's the dumbfounding impression left by writer-director Oliver Parker's utterly miscalculated film adaptation of Wilde's play. Read full review
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