![The Importance Of Being Earnest. Image shows from L to R: John 'Jack' Worthing (Colin Firth), Algernon 'Algy' Moncrieff (Rupert Everett). Copyright: Fragile Films The Importance Of Being Earnest. Image shows from L to R: John 'Jack' Worthing (Colin Firth), Algernon 'Algy' Moncrieff (Rupert Everett). Copyright: Fragile Films](https://cdn.comedy.co.uk/images/library/comedies/300x200/i/importance_being_earnest_2002.jpg)
The Importance Of Being Earnest (2002)
- 2002 film
2002 screen adaptation of Oscar Wilde's comic masterpiece. Rupert Everett and Colin Firth star as two men assuming the same identity. Also features Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Anna Massey and more.
![The Importance Of Being Earnest. Image shows from L to R: Gwendolen Fairfax (Frances O'Connor), John 'Jack' Worthing (Colin Firth), Algernon 'Algy' Moncrieff (Rupert Everett), Cecily Cardew (Reese Witherspoon). Copyright: Fragile Films The Importance Of Being Earnest. Image shows from L to R: Gwendolen Fairfax (Frances O'Connor), John 'Jack' Worthing (Colin Firth), Algernon 'Algy' Moncrieff (Rupert Everett), Cecily Cardew (Reese Witherspoon). Copyright: Fragile Films](https://cdn.comedy.co.uk/images/library/comedies/900x450/i/importance_being_earnest_2002.jpg)
Key details
- Genre
- Film
- Released
- 2002
- Creator
- Oscar Wilde
- Stars
- Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Anna Massey, Edward Fox and more
- Writer
- Oliver Parker
- Director
- Oliver Parker
- Producers
- David Brown, Barnaby Thompson and Uri Fruchtmann
- Company
Jack Worthing, respectable owner of a Hertfordshire country estate and charge of young Cecily, hides a little secret: when in London, he adopts the identity of his (fictional) younger brother, fun-loving libertine Ernest.
There, Jack has fallen in love with Gwendolen, the cousin of friend and full-time London resident Algy - who himself holds a secret, in the form of an equally fictional and apparently severely ill close friend, by way of excuse to escape to the country at will.
Unfortunately for Jack, Gwendolen is as much in love with the name Ernest as with the man who claims to be him - and her mother, Lady Bracknell, can barely stand the sight of him.
When the two friends discover each others' secrets, Algy sets out to meet the young Cecily, and in so doing sets in motion a train of events that will cause each man to question his identity - and reveal the mix-up between a young baby and a novel at Victoria Station.
Stream and download
Additional details
- UK certificate
- U
- Duration
- 98 minutes
- UK release
- Friday 6th September 2002
- Production
- Location
- Camera set-up
- Single camera
- Picture
- Colour
Website links
Broadcast details
- Most recent repeats
-
- Thursday 15th July 2021 at 8:00pm on BBC4
- Sunday 11th July 2021 at 1:50pm on BBC2
- Friday 18th December 2020 at 2:45pm on BBC2
Recording details
- Ealing Studios - Studios
- West Wycombe Park and London - Locations