Susan Granger’s review of “Bright Young Things” (Think Film)
Why is it that the parties of today are never as glamorous and exciting as those of yesteryear – at least on the silver screen? Adapted by writer/director Stephen Fry from Evelyn Waugh’s 1930s comic novel, “Vile Bodies,” this satirical romance chronicles the exploits of the young, idle rich, a group of decadent British aristocrats who seem to exist only to amuse themselves at parties. The story begins as writer Adam Symes (Stephen Campbell Moore) returns from France to England, where customs officials confiscate his just-completed manuscript. That doesn’t sit well with his publisher (Dan Aykroyd) nor his fiancŽe Nina (Emily Mortimer) because no job means no money, which means no marriage. When he wins an daring bet from a carefree socialite (David Tennant), a drunken Major (Jim Broadbent) disappears with the cash – and a subsequent visit to Nina’s father (Peter O’Toole) fizzles. Penniless and desperate, Symes agrees to write a nasty gossip column about London society, which leads to all sorts of contrived complications. While Stephen Fry is obviously attempting to draw a parallel between the debauchery of that syncopated, cocaine-drenched era and the obsessive celebrity culture of today, unfortunately, without intoxicating irony, it seems so irrelevant. Yet there are witty observations – “High society is an uneasy alliance between old survivors and bright young things: its glamour, a delusion; its speed, a snare; and its music, a scream of fear.” – and diverting cameos from Stockard Channing, Simon Callow, John Mills, Margaret Tyzack and Jim Carter. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Bright Young Things” is a brittle, scandalous 6, plagued by beastly British accents that make it difficult to decipher much of the dialogue. Perhaps it just doesn’t cross the pond too well.
