STORY TOOLS

A Good Woman

By Ed Hulse -- Video Business, 5/8/2006

Story Line: Mrs. Erlynne (Hunt), a glamorous socialite with a somewhat disreputable past and a mountain of debt, flees New York for the Amalfi Coast, where she is befriended by the Windemeres, Meg (Johansson) and Tom (Umbers). When local gossips claim that Tom is having an affair with the notorious divorcee, Meg does something foolish.

Bottom Line: This remake of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windemere's Fan, updated to the '30s, offers good-looking actors in stylish costumes. But despite the retooling, the film fails to overcome a basic but significant flaw: contemporary sexual politics have made this story all but obsolete. Though Good Woman takes place in the '30s, the concept is so outdated that any titillation Wilde's play once possessed has long since dissipated. The performers are acceptable enough and look fine in their period dress, but Hunt is a bit too much the all-American girl to be convincing as a supposedly conniving hussy, and Johansson doesn't have the chops to accurately portray the young wife's disillusionment. Still, the production is sturdy and some of the supporting players—especially Tom Wilkinson—acquit themselves handily. Hunt and Johansson have the marquee value necessary to make this a successful rental item.

Color, PG (mature themes, mild language, mild sensuality), 93 min., DVD only $27.98
DVD: no extras
Street: June 13, Prebook: May 17
First Run: L, Feb. 2006, <$1 mil.
Cast: Helen Hunt (As Good as It Gets), Scarlett Johansson (The Island), Stephen Campbell Moore (Bright Young Things), Mark Umbers (The Merchant of Venice)
Director: Mike Barker
LIONSGATE

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