day 3.31

review: the king's speech

some movies are made to be entertaining, while others are made to win awards. the king's speech falls into the latter category. tom hooper's tale of king george vi's ascent to the throne is quite possibly the slowest film i've ever sat through, which is surprising as the flick runs under two hours. the movie is informative, and features some of the best acting to hit the screen in some time (it's no surprise that all 3 leads received golden globe noms), but it won't keep your attention. the king's speech is more likely to frustrate and annoy you than it is entertain you. the film's unifying device - the would-be-king's stutter - becomes beyond annoying; i found myself wanting to scream "just spit it out!" at the screen over, and over, and over again. firth is doing some of his best work here, but even he couldn't save me from wanting to bang my head against something repeatedly. it is a nice change of pace to see helena bonham carter playing a "regular person" (if you can count the queen of england as a "regular person"), but carter and geoffrey rush's (who plays the king's speech therapist) comedic gifts are wasted in the bland script. if you're someone who has to see every movie on the "must-watch before the oscars" list, then by all means see the king's speech. if not, check it out when it comes out on dvd, so that you can keep yourself entertained by doing something else while watching it.