Bright Young Things Review
by Harvey S. Karten (harveycritic AT cs DOT com)August 4th, 2004
BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS
Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
THINKfilm
Grade: B-
Directed by: Stephen Fry
Written by: Stephen Fry, novel "Vile Bodies" by Evelyn Waugh Cast: Stephen Campbell Moore, Fenella Woolgar, James McAvoy, David Tennant, Julia McKenzie, Stockard Channing, Alex Barclay, Simon Callow, Bruno Lastra, Guy Henry, Bill Paterson, Imelda Staunton, Harriet Walter
Screened at: Review 1, NYC, 8/3/04
Somebody once said that life is a banquet but that most of us are starving. If we accept the wisdom of the fortune-cookie philosophy, we'd have to stop and wonder: what should we do to take part in life's banquet that we are not doing already? Should we throw away our plastic pocket protectors, ditch our computers, and dance the nights away? Perhaps. But if that's what you think makes for the ideal life, see "Bright Young Things." The Stephen Fry film is based on the novel "Vile Bodies" by Evelyn Waugh, a terribly popular novelist in his day, who penned the work in 1930 and has now been adapted for the screen by the director. Why is the lifestyle of these bright young things not as glamorous as we think it would be? The answer lies in the boredom that the celebrants themselves feel, or at least say those who admit to ennui, and since Freud said that the only things worthwhile in life are love and work, these people are lacking in both. Parties are not the answer.
There are, however, two characters in the movie who compel our attention, one of whom being the only one in the story that any of us would want to spend fifteen minutes with, much less a round of banquets, parties and balls. One would be Adam (Stephen Campbell Moore), a young man in love who, though accepted by society and courted thereby by the paparazzi who show up at every blast to feed their readers' insatiable desire for nasty gossip, is penny- wise but pound–lacking. Adam is in love with Nina (Emily Mortimer), which allows Fry to weave two themes into the film: one is the love story–boy wins girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl; in the other he casts a wide net across a spectrum of London society during the 1930's, people who include the certifiably insane Agatha (Fenella Woolgar) who takes part in an auto race and winds up in the looney bin; Miles (Michael Sheen), an flamboyant gay who, despite the unacceptability of his behavior in the Oscar-Wilde-like country of his time doesn't give a rap; Ginger (David Tennant), a rich socialite who lusts after Adam's girl; Lord Monomark (Dan Aykroyd), who runs a tabloid that issues a daily gossip column written by a fellow who is a member of society himself and thereby has entry to the parties; Col. Blount (Peter O'Toole), the father of the would-be bride; and a drunk major (Jim Broadbent), who appears to be stealing a good deal of Adam's money.
"Bright Young Things" takes us from the early thirties, when the titled bright young things forget that the roaring twenties are over and continue to dance the nights away to cacophonous jazz bands–which turn up frequently in this often noisy picture–to the middle of World War II, when members of society have lost their money and most seem to have lost their roaring thirties spirit. During the quieter period, we watch the ailing romance of Adam and Nina, the latter needing to have someone take care of her financially but is depressed, as is her lover, when Adam seems unable to scrounge up enough money to set a wedding date.
As Emily Mortimer's nasalized voice is annoying to listen to, sometimes difficult to understand, and since the entire batch of characters is either too drunk, too high on cocaine, and too just plain dull and foolish, that leaves Stephen Campbell Moore in the only role worth a darn to watch, which is not quite enough of a reason to light off firecrackers from the audience. Still, "Bright Young Things" does give us a picture of London society in its heyday, shows us how an unappealing event like a world war can change people's fortunes, The press notes imply that we Americans in the present day, with our craving for news from celebrities, are a mirror image of London in the thirties, but that's a stretch. People magazine does have a high subscription rate, but the typical moviegoer attends the cinema just a couple of time a month, getting most of his action from DVDs and videocassettes, not particularly caring why Ben Affleck and J.Lo broke up or why the split between Jake Gyllenhaal and Kirsten Dunst. Or am I a typical, white-wine sipping Democrat unaware of the passions of the ordinary Americans?
Not Yet Rated. 105 minutes. © 2004 by Harvey Karten at
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