Movie musts

There are a couple of good movies amid the trash out there.

The Duchess is an English movie, a period piece that is quite brilliant in skewering the foibles and m ores of the British upper class in the late 18th century.

It is a true story of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. She is a beautiful almost child bride. He is an ugly old goat. He is powerful, she is not. She invites her best friend to live with them and the duke ends up sleeping with her. It becomes a menage a trois, with the duke living openly with two women. He is basically a bigamist. She becomes involved in Whig politics of the time and Charles James Fox. When she takes another man, it is quite another matter. Great stuff. Should win an Oscar, but won’t. It is way too good.

The other clever movie is the comedy Ghost Town, with Ricky Gervais and Tia Leone. Great, understated, subtle British humour. Not everyone gets Gervais out-there stuff. At times I was the only person guffawing in the movie theatre. Some priceless lines. Not to be missed if you enjoyed the original British The Office series. MmmMmmm good.