I went to go see The King’s Speech for two reasons. Reason One: Oscar buzz. Reason Two: It’s black history month and I didn’t want to be called out for being a racist.
Long story short, The King’s Speech is great, but Martin Luther King, Jr. is nowhere to be found. In fact, it’s not about him at all. At first I thought they were going for the same thing that Emilio Estevez was doing with Bobby. But about 90 minutes in, I finally gave up on that notion and realized that it really just was about King George VI trying to overcome his stammer.
There is something factually wrong about the above paragraph. I’ll just sit here and read a magazine until you figure out what it is. What magazine? Why, Highlights of course. That Goofus is so rude, but that Gallant is remarkably kind-hearted. The simple fact that they’ve remained friends all these years is…
Oh, sorry. Give up? Yeah, it’s the sentence that begins “The King’s Speech is great…” because, for you see, if the King’s speech was actually great, there would be no movie. The King’s speech is actually quite horrible and that, dear reader, is where the amazingly funny and also heartfelt performance as the King’s Speech Therapist Lionel Logue, played by Geoffrey Rush, makes us all believe in miracles. All the Oscar talk seems to be focused square on Colin Firth for his portrayal of Dame King George VI, and a great performance it is. Full of quirky moments and stretches of dialogue that are the wet dreams of actors. But the glulam beam that holds the entire roof up, is Geoffrey Rush. When Firth is running around being royal and posh, Rush provides the audience with an entry into this world we know nothing about and his relationship to Mr. King George VI is second only to Helena Bonham Carter’s Queen Elizabeth.
There is something really great about the King and Queen’s relationship. It’s so normal and un-royal. They seem like a regular Joe and Jane Hammersmith. They love each other and she was willing to move heaven and high water to help the King with his little problem. Moments between them, moments like when they are crammed into a tiny elevator and they exchange a look of well-I-know-we-tried-everything-else-but-seriously-what-did-you-get-me-into-now, sell their relationship and feel genuine. It is those moments that parallel the little moments between common Geoffrey Rush and his common wife. Both men ultimately love their wives, love their country and love their jobs. They are the same guy, only one has better genes.1 The whole thing is exactly what you would expect for this type of film. Great acting, writing and cinematography. And that is why I don’t think it should win Best Picture.
What what whaaaat?
Yeah. You read that right. The King’s Speech is great, but it is great because the formula used to make is what great. Take a great and likable actor like Colin Firth, give him a character based on a real person with some kind of flaw, have him overcome that flaw, then maybe have him learn a little something about himself along the way. Combine that with great period costumes and British accents and you have yourself some Oscar Stew.2 I feel bad for punishing The King’s Speech for being good, but to quote an old saying, it just feels like it was born on third base and never actually hit a triple. It’s “dive difficultly” just wasn’t very high from the start. Maybe I’m just more impressed with a film like The Social Network which I thought wasn’t going to be that good and turned out to be pretty great. My expectation on The King’s Speech we’re high and just stayed there. I got what I expected, which is something one should never complain about, but didn’t get much more than I expected. But I will admit that it was funnier than I thought it would be. So bonus points for that.
Is The King’s Speech the Best Picture of 2010? I don’t think so, but it was a good picture and should be seen. Now I just need to find a movie to actually celebrate Black History Month. Has anybody seen Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son? I hear it is not nearly as Raven as College Road Trip.
1Which one? Geoffrey Rush - way less inbreeding.
2Oscar stew is very similar to Hobo Stew, but has less whiskey. The year Leaving Las Vegas won is an obvious exception the previous sentence
