Review: Vanity Fair

Posted by: Tom Milroy  •  September 1, 2004 @ 11:59am

Filed under: Reviews

Question: What exactly is a "chick flick"? Answer: A movie without car chases.

Vanity Fair begins in the year 1802. Car chases were ruled out from the start. I turned to my 17-year-old son and told him, "Don't worry, I'm sure there are some horse & buggy chases coming soon." Didn't happen.

Since Vanity Fair is more than two hours long, you know the producers are going for Oscar nods (all important movies are over two hours).

Vanity Fair stars Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp, a poor girl who wants to be Paris Hilton with brains. She wants the good life and will do whatever it takes to get that life. Directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding), this is a decent movie, just not a very enthralling one. There aren't many surprises.

The supporting cast is strong: Gabriel Byrne, Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent, the always fine Bob Hoskins, and Romola Garai as Becky's always-put-upon best friend Amelia.

While I didn't doze off during the movie, it's just not very exciting. Can't wait for Legally Blonde 3!