1/5 Disappointed
  by Vera K. Renkiewicz
I love the movie. However I was very disappointed that I bought a brand new copy that just stopped working close to the end of the movie. I found I had a few hiccups trying to find out how to exchange it instead of a return since I really wanted the movie. When email for assistance I found it not be be clear and to the point but really only referred me to the same stuff I had found. It wasn't until after I was past the timeframe that I found the exchange option. My second email with questions wasn't even answered. No response at all. I'm disappointed in the product quality and Amazon's response

2/5 Disappointing
  by Kona (Emerald City)
In Victorian England, two young ladies are convinced they can only fall in love with men named "Earnest," so wealthy Jack (Colin Firth) and his scoundrel friend Algernon (Rupert Everett) adopt that name and the result is unrestrained hilarity. (NOT.)

This misguided version of Oscar Wilde's well-loved stage play suffers from poor direction at every turn. The sets and costumes are too brightly colored, the actors are too tanned and robust, and their mannerisms are so distinctly modern that one never believes it's the 1890s. One really vulgar addition to the original has two characters getting their beloved's names tattooed, colorfully, on their bums. *shudder*

Colin Firth and Rupert Everett are both handsome, but they don't capture the period and they often mumble, which is unforgivable since the language is the best part of the show. The two young ladies are sadly miscast: Although Reese Witherspoon does a respectable English accent, she has to work so hard at it that it's distracting and she looks very 21st century. Frances O'Connor as Jack's love interest is pushy and unlikable. The real star of the film is Judi Drench who displays the perfect regal elegance and snobbiness her part requires.

The movie is pretty boring until the last 30 minutes, when all the (supposed) wackiness of two men calling themselves "Earnest" finally starts to make sense and several coincidences pay off. Overall, however, this dismal reworking of a hilarious play has neither wit nor humor.

3/5 Occasionally Resembles A Play By Oscar Wilde
  by Allan M. Lees (Novato, CA USA)
Wilde was present at the final dress rehearsal of his play and after watching the performance commented that he thought it was really splendid - indeed, in places it reminded him of a play he'd once written called The Importance of Being Earnest.

I had the same feeling after watching this DVD. The cast is talented and capable but the direction is entirely wrong for Earnest. The director has interpreted Wilde's lightweight comedy of social manners as though it were realist drama. As such the vast majority of lines are thrown away and the ridiculousness inherent in Wilde's script - the self-mockery - is largely lost. Only Judi Dench and one or two supporting cast members manage to push past this misdirection to provide moments of truly comic relief.

Earnest is a difficult play to stage because it reads better than it sounds; but the same is true of several Noel Coward plays and a good director can bring these off successfully so long as the style is correct. One can only hope that Earnest will be re-filmed at some point in the future by a director who understands how to interpret this kind of material. As it is, this DVD promises much but sadly delivers little.

5/5 The Importance of Being Earnest
  by Susan M. Shinn
Haven't seen this yet, but it arrived in excellent conditioand super fast. Thanks. Sue

4/5 Good, but better on stage
  by Dennis Anderson (McMinnville, OR, USA)
We had just seen the live production at Portland Center Stage of "The Importance of Being Earnest." We enjoyed the movie, but nothing beats the enjoyment of live theater. And Portland Center Stage is always excellent.
(Portland, Oregon, that is)