Bright Young Things (2003)
In the 1930s, a social set known to the press – who follow their every move – as the “Bright Young Things” are Adam and his friends who are eccentric, wild and entirely shocking to the older generation. Amidst the madness, Adam, who is well connected but totally broke, is desperately trying to get enough money to marry the beautiful Nina. While his attempts to raise cash are constantly thwarted, their friends seem to self-destruct, one-by-one, in an endless search for newer and faster sensations. Finally, when world events out of their control come crashing around them, they are forced to reassess their lives and what they value most.
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Good concept, poorly executed.
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
Bright Young ThingsThe difference between London and New York circa 1920s was British flappers drove drunk on the left side of the road. Luckily, the young folks in this drama have cocaine to sober them up.During the twenties, the well-to-do English youth threw elaborate booze and narcotic filled parties.Involved in the shenanigans are struggling writer Adam (Stephen Campbell) and his soon-to-be wife (Emily Mortimer).But before they can marry, Adam needs to claim horse-race winnings from an eccentric Major (Jim Broadbent).To make ends meet, he ghostwrites a gossip column expounding the daily dalliances of his friends (Michael Sheen, Fenella Woolgar), to the pleasure of his editor (Dan Aykroyd)A well-acted glimpse at England's self-indulgent post-WWI climate, Young Bright Things manages to show the perils of being young and rich as much as the pearls.Besides, it's better to party when you don't need a nurse to do a keg-stand.Green Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.com
Evelyn Waugh's 1930 satiric novel of the party going set took place in the Roaring Twenties age where anything goes. Stepen Fry's screenplay takes place in the late 1930's, right before World War 2. Wise choice as we know today more about the '30.s than the '20.s. The screenplays' dialogue goes so fast,you will be glad you have remote control & can go back & catch the lines.The cast is huge comprising many of the top names in cinema & TV of today & yesterday,The main characters are played by a new comer Stephan Campbell Moore ( his first role) & Emily Mortimer, they are more than ably assisted by (among others) James McAvoy,Micheal Sheen,Dan Aykroid,Jim Broadbent, Stockard Channing, Simon Callow,with cameos by Peter O'Toole & in his last movie appearance Lord John Mills.WHAT A DREAM CAST.They all including those I left off gave superb performances,Stephen Fry has directed this type cast before & always does a tip top job,.The 1930's period is perfectly captured, there are a few last scenes set in the early to mid 40's.Much of the film is hilariously funny,making the inevitable sad scenes palatable. thankfully there are only a few.The song score is fitting the period,the costumes, sets everything is near pitch perfect.The film is pure satire as only envisioned by the author of Brideshead Revisited & The Loved One.The rating is a very proper R rating,(scenes of sniffing a certain white powder).The movie had a very small US theatrical run in 2004,If I had seen it then it would have made my best of year listings.Ratings **** (out of 4) 97 points(out of 100) IMDb 10 (out of 10)
When i first saw Bright Young Things it was because my elder sister Florence had made we watch it when she was in charge of the remote control. i wasn't really paying any attention until Adam was left by his fiancé-to-be Nina. I think that David's appearance in this film was absolutely great as that was the first time that i'd ever seen him with ginger hair and a moustache. My favourite character was Agatha (played by Fenella Woolgar) and especially after she went mad. I didn't quite understand what happened to her until the film literally pushed my to books etc... to buy the book. The most devastating part of the film must have been when Miles (Michael Sheen) reveals that he is gay. The funniest character was definitely the drunken major as he never had the time (or the place) to give Adam his money. Jim Broadbent brought a great light to the film seeing as i was a bit disappointed and felt like crying a) when Adam lost his fiancé-to-be Nina and b)when the man at the train station refused to give Adam his story book named 'Bright Young Things'
I have not read Waugh in years, and while this adaptation made me recall how much I enjoyed "Vile Bodies," the film does not do justice to the novel. The film is muddled and episodic, and requires the audience to do too much work. There is none of the subtlety here of a Woody Allen, for example, to reward us for remaining engaged amid the sloppy editing and choppy pacing. In fact, the excellent cast seems wasted, as does the novel itself. The movie brightens up during fleeting and sparkling party scenes that make us feel we are in London at a certain time -- though it's not clear what time that is. This adaptation pushes the hedonism of the 20s forward to the 30s (I believe the novel was published around 1930, whereas the movie seems to be set in the 30s). And the jazz score only reminded me what a cultural backwater London was at this time, relative to New York, where the Jazz Age and the real parties were in full swing. So, it doesn't work as a character-driven drama, and it's not a compelling portrait of the age. It is, however, perhaps worth seeing for some performances. We do not see enough of James McAvoy and Alec Newman, who are excellent. What a strange coincidence that both of these actors played the leads in the SciFi Channel's mini-series adaptations of the Dune novels.