This 1938 Frank Capra outing may have won an Oscar but its tale of the son of a wealthy family (Jimmy Stewart) looking to buy up the property of Lionel Barrymore's cheerful brood of eccentrics (who include an improbably youthful Jean Arthur), is over-treacled with Capra-esque sentimentalism. Stewart's role is underplayed, the plot is slow-moving and the comedic pickings lean.
Sharon Osbourne, reviewing Series One, sighs wistfully to her son: "I wish it was back then, Jack... we were innocent then." Jack replies: "I think we've been robbed of our innocence."And it was precisely those naïve and spontaneous moments in the Osbourne family mansion that made the first series such a richly human, entertaining and unrepeatable TV experience.
Tom Stoppard directs this 1990 screen version of his ingenious 1967 play about two supporting characters from Hamlet. Stoppard opens up the play's theatrical setting well, and his brilliant dialogue remains intact. Sadly, the two leads—Oldman and Roth—are uninspiring.
