Why do reputed production houses keep financing films which have been made and re-made a zillion times before? They are running the huge risk of losing a good bundle of cash if the film is a box office flop or perhaps are they hoping to get lucky like on Superbowl night when the critically panned The Roomate, a college chiller which needs no summary became number one in the box office when thousands of young women uninterested in watching a long drawn American football game decided to go the movies!
Life As We Know It didn’t benefit from the Superbowl effect. The film stars Katherine Heigl as Holly and Josh Duhamel as Messer, two above average physically gifted human beings who are set up on a blind date by their common friends. The beginning is funny and the date which is a disaster, never takes place. But they keep bumping into each other when the friends marry, have their first baby and then tragedy strikes and the happily married couple dies in an accident leaving Holly and Messer the guardianship of baby Sophie (an adorable child by the way).
If anyone has not guessed how the film ends despite a few mishaps, then you really need to rush to the store and borrow the video. Of course if you do want to watch something with a good looking cast, dressed like magazine models with exciting jobs and no obvious financial issues (Holly is a caterer/ baker who owns a super cute shop and Messer is a network sports director), then yes, this is the film for you, predictable, not unpleasant, but really nothing new!
But on the other hand The King’s Speech by Tom Hooper starring Colin Firth as The Duke of York better known as Bertie who later becomes King George VI, is one of the most pleasant cinematographic experiences of the week. With a few major casting errors such as picking Guy Pierce to be King Edward VIII; Pierce who gives a brilliant performance, looks way too young to play the part, the film however manages to interest despite a rather unusual theme.
Bertie used to stutter, actually he had a miserable childhood, left too often in the care of nannies who took little interest in this knock-kneed baby who wore corrective splints on his legs and despite being born a left hander was forced to become right handed.
When the film begins in 1925, Bertie is trying to make a closing speech at the British Empire Exhibition, he is sick with anxiety and is unable to clearly pronounce a word into the microphone. His wife, The Duchess of York who was later better known as The Queen Mother decides to take action and save her man any future embarrassing situations. She gives up on the old school speech therapists ( the ones who stick marbles in your mouth and expect you to still speak clearly!) and finds Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist and failed actor, played by the always wonderful Geoffrey Rush, who tells the reluctant royals: “ My game, my castle, my rules,” and proceeds to be on first name basis with the future king.
The film relies mainly on Firth’s performance as a vulnerable leader. He is absolutely credible as a man with a debilitating handicap who just does not want the prominence and is perfectly content being at home with his wife and two daughters ( one of them was to become the present Queen of England). But with his father’s death and his brother’s abdication to marry the twice divorced American Wallis Simpson, Bertie is thrown into the limelight beyond his control and history will show that he was to be a good King.
The best fact about The King’s Speech is that it portrays the Royals as rather pleasant and human. They are a little snobby of course, but their longing to lead a normal life is somewhat endearing and the bottom line is that none of the Kings, neither Edward nor George really want to become rulers! They have hang ups and issues like in any other family and even take walks in the park and have temper tantrums in public!
Unlike other films which give somewhat of a stuffy image to British Royalty, The King’s Speech is quite different. We see the majestic King George V harshly force and coach his stuttering son to make a Christmas announcement. A few scenes later, an obviously distraught family watches a dementia stricken King sign over his executive responsibilities. The characters have emotions which therefore makes them more human, likable and real.
Despite an overuse of close ups and a script which does not make you jump up and down in surprise, we can guess that after a rocky start and a few setbacks, Bertie and his speech therapist will become lifelong friends; The King’s Speech is a beautifully told story which can be enjoyed by each and everyone.
The Sunday Leader By Sumaya Samarasinghe
