(Long Island, N.Y.) The King’s Speech: a modern-day Lethal Weapon? No, no, no…I kid, but really, it follows the character arc established by Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in their classic cop caper flick (not to mention about a million other movies). No, Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush don’t shoot anyone or blow anything up, but as far as their interaction goes, it’s the usual “odd couple” type of thing. Two men, both from very different worlds, who don’t like each other at first, but soon grow to become close friends (well, sort of) through all manner of adversity.
And yes, this is a sophisticated British-made historical period piece I’m writing about…I don’t always just review movies where things explode, thank you very much.
Firth plays Prince Albert, Duke of York and future King George VI, and Geoffrey Rush is speech therapist Lionel Logue. You see, Al’s got a stuttering problem, which can be a bit of a bummer when you’re a member of the royal family and are expected to do things like speak in public in front of thousands of people (so yes, the film’s title is, in fact, a double entendre! How very clever). In fact, our film opens with such a scene, and the resulting embarrassment on the part of Albert drives him to seek out treatment, but after stupidly being made to read with a mouth full of marbles (what, were they out of leeches?) and almost choking, he decides to quit treatment (preferring to remain marble mouthed figuratively as opposed to literally).
However, his wifey-poo, Elizabeth (everyone’s favorite kook Helena Bonham Carter), meets with Lionel Logue (Rush, who I loved in the campy House on Haunted Hill remake) and eventually convinces Albert to try the weird Australian’s unorthodox treatments. Of course, like I said above, the two don’t get on at first; Albert isn’t fond of Logue insistence of calling him “Bertie,” but after he successfully gets him to read Shakespeare without stammering once (it seems listening to Mozart can fix just about anything), Albert begins to take his work with Logue seriously.
The rest of the movie covers Albert’s dysfunctional relationships with both his father, King George V (Michael Gambon) and his older brother Edward (Guy Pearce), and his eventual rise to the throne of England. Since this is based on a true story, you can look up all the historical facts, but the ins-and-outs make for some fascinating drama, especially considering the great lengths the filmmakers apparently went to adhere as closely as possible to fact. Of course, as any film that is “based on a true story,” there’s fabrications to be sure, but in The King’s Speech, there seems to be less than usual. I think.
A drama such as this hinges solely on its acting, especially when it comes to a story about an emotional bond between two men, and Firth and Rush deliver big-time with some great chemistry. Firth in particular was very impressive, and I love almost any movie that Rush turns up in…well, except for those Disney pirate movies he’s been slumming in lately. But hey, I guess you’ve gotta pay the bills somehow, right? Small little artsy-fartsy movies like this won’t do it, sadly.
Helena Bonham Carter is solid, but really, the breakout in this movie is Guy Pearce as Edward, Albert’s somewhat cruel brother who also just so happens to be next in line for the throne, only to eventually throw it away from some divorced American dame; never mind the fact that the throne is obviously a lot better upholstered than she is. Still, there’s no accounting for taste, I guess.
The movie can be a bit on the sappy and sentimental side at times, but always, those performances will draw you back in if you ever start to falter. The King’s Speech is an excellent little flick that’s only recently gone into wide release, so if you’ve been holding off on seeing it because you thought it was only playing at one of those snooty little art house-style movie theaters (you know, the kind where the snack counter sells disgusting things like tofu popcorn with peanut oil and wheat grass juice), your excuse has gone out the window. Besides, if you go to see this movie you’ll be treated to a scene where Helena Bonham Carter sits on a grown man’s chest as a stuttering remedy. What more could you ask for?
