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Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkinson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Mark Umbers ... see more see more... , Milena Vukotic , Diana Hardcastle , Roger Hammond , Jane How , John Standing , Giorgia Massetti , Bruce McGuire , Augusto Zucchi , Shara Orano , Michael Stromme , Antonio Barbaro , Valentina D'uva , Filippo Santoro , Carolina Levi , Daniela Stanga , Arianna Mansi , Camilla Bertocci , Nichola Aigner

One of Oscar Wilde's most popular plays is given a new screen interpretation in this period comedy. In New York in the early '30s, Mrs. Erlynne (Helen Hunt) is a widow who lives comfortably through th... read more read more...e largesse of several married men, and when she runs out of wealthy suitors in Manhattan, she decides to find greener pastures among the wealthy elite of Italy's Amalfi coast. Mrs. Erlynne sets her sights on Robert Windermere (Mark Umbers), a wealthy Englishman who is married to the young, innocent and very beautiful Meg (Scarlett Johansson). Mrs. Erlynne gingerly tries to separate Robert from his wife and his money, fueling suspicions within Amalfi society as well as the audience that they are involved. Humiliated and ready to beat him at his own game, Meg begins to consider the advances of the handsome Lord Darlington (Stephen Campbell Moore), one of her husband's close friends. In the midst of all the attempted infidelity, the genially eccentric Tuppy (Tom Wilkinson) struggles to win Mrs. Erlynne's hand, while only one of the interconnected parties know that she carries a shocking secret. A Good Woman was based on Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, with its title drawn from that show's subtitle, "A Play About a Good Woman." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

44% liked it

106,244 ratings

Critics

37% liked it

81 critics

PG, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Mike Barker

Release Date: February 3, 2006

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DVD Release Date: June 13, 2006

Stats: 1,066 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,066)

  • fb1463751009
    March 10, 2012
    fb1463751009
    What a strange title... almost all the women pissed me off in this movie. I take that back; all the characters pissed me off. There is so much deceit, cheating, and dishonesty going about this plot that we, as the audience, don't know who to root for. There's a group that are the... read more gossipers, Helen Hunt's the seductress, Scarlett Johansson wavers between loyalty and betrayal, and worst of all, Stephen Campbell Moore tries his hardest to break the bond of marriage to satiate his want to sleep with a hot girl. Yeah, you heard me; Campbell Moore says that he does it for the sake of "love" but I call it a booty call, and I make that assumption based on his annoying ass character's mannerisms and actions. What particularly annoyed me the most was how almost everyone within this movie was NOT genuine until the movie decides to wrap everything up with a happy, feel-good ending.

    "A Good Woman" is put together sloppily with very generic techniques that add nothing to the subpar plot with some of the most annoying side characters I've seen in a very long time. This movie is not worth a watch.
  • FiLmCrAzY
    April 14, 2009
    FiLmCrAzY
    its an alright film
  • aliceinpunderland
    August 10, 2008
    aliceinpunderland
    The tone of this adaptation is sooo serious and strips away much of Oscar Wilde's bombastic wit. Stephen Campbell Moore is my new It Guy.
  • fb1144932598
    April 2, 2009
    fb1144932598
    Not as literary minded as some who may have previously reviewed this, I will not be comparing this to the Oscar Wilde original on which it was based. It is similar in theme, although with a different moral, to the recent film, Priceless. While this viewer saw Wilde's subtle hand ... read morebehind the script, this film is able to stand on its own. I found it to be quite annoying as various characters made serious judgements and accusations based on little knowledge and a whole lot of imagination. Newly married Meg Windemere (Scarlett Johansson) appears ready to kick her husnband (Stephen Campbell Moore) to the curb for suppposed indescretions with Mrs. Erlynne (Helen Hunt) a notorious gold-digger who has worn out her welcome in other locales. I had to stop and start several times, just to let my frustrations subside. However, staying to the end proved quite rewarding, as all of the various fractures and threads are brought to a most satifying conclusion. As a commentary on contemporary mores it seems a little dated, but was quite an entertaining confection. Tom Wilkinson played Tuppy as a slightly jaded man who nevertheless decided to give love another go with Mrs. Erlynne. Conversation at a party: "Would she even look at you if you were poor?" "Would I even look at her if she were ugly? Fair exchange." Lovely costumes, beautiful sets, two gorgeous women, a terrific supporting cast, and witty dialogue, this one just about had it all.
  • gator681
    April 6, 2007
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]In "A Good Woman", it is 1930 when flat broke, professional mistress Stella Erlynne(Helen Hunt) leaves New York for the sunnier climes of Italy where she hopes to land another wealthy benefactor in a land teeming with them. Her prime target is the young Robe... read morert Windermere(Mark Umbers), married about a year to Meg(Scarlett Johansson).[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"A Good Woman" is a curiously lifeless adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windermere's Fan" that really only has Wilde's patented bon mots and Tom Wilkinson's charming performance going for it. The blame lies mostly in the horrendous miscasting of Helen Hunt who is simply dreadful and has always had the sex appeal of a rotten banana.(So, it's not simply her age. After all, Helen Mirren still has it.)[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]What the movie seeks to convey is the lack of opportunities for a woman excommunicated from society in that day and age and who is forced to live on the margins.(But Mrs. Erlynne's profligate spending does not help her cause.) And it also serves as a commentary on society's inability to mind its own business.[/font]
  • nadyajoensen
    May 15, 2010
    nadyajoensen
    I sat down to watch this movie because it was running on tv and I actually enjoyed it very much. Helen Hunt is a gold digger who has got a lot of money from New York husbands and this has damaged her reputation. She then travels to Italy to seek fresh prospects and the gossip soo... read moren spreads here too. Here she meets this newlywed US financier with a young and fragile wife. This movie very much illustrates Oscar Wilde's style and I thought it was great. Great acting and a great plot.
  • mvieaddict
    February 16, 2009
    mvieaddict
    One of Oscar Wilde's most popular plays is given a new screen interpretation in this period comedy. In New York in the early '30s, Mrs. Erlynne (Helen Hunt) is a widow who lives comfortably through the largest of several married men, and when she runs out of wealthy suitors in Ma... read morenhattan, she decides to find greener pastures among the wealthy elite of Italy's Amalfi coast. Mrs. Erlynne sets her sights on Robert Windermere (Mark Umbers), a wealthy Englishman who is married to the young, innocent and very beautiful Meg (Scarlett Johansson). Mrs. Erlynne gingerly tries to separate Robert from his wife and his money, fueling suspicions within Amalfi society as well as the audience that they are involved. Humiliated and ready to beat him at his own game, Meg begins to consider the advances of the handsome Lord Darlington (Stephen Campbell Moore), one of her husband's close friends. In the midst of all the attempted infidelity, the genially eccentric Tuppy (Tom Wilkinson) struggles to win Mrs. Erlynne's hand, while only one of the interconnected parties know that she carries a shocking secret.

    One more of the truly entertaining films I have seen in a long time. I feel this is what true film making and entertainment should aspire to achieve. The performances were amazing and well directed. This film made me feel something in my heart. There are some unforgettable quotes. like : "Every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future."
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    Helen Hunt gets into the skin of that marked woman that's the epicenter of tons of rumors and gossip. A free soul in a society that's full of hypocrisy and lies. As for Scarlett Johansson, she's the innocent and young wife that wakes up to that world of lies. There's a big secret between them? Every line of Wilde is like a bullet, every look of Mrs. Hunt is like a thousand lives, every curve of Johansson's body is a mortal sin?!! ( so guys, wht are u waiting for ?)
    Photobucket
    Well I have to say 5 stars, no doubt, worthy to see,
  • mingsysar
    January 6, 2009
    mingsysar
    Trying to be Noel Coward as well as Oscar Wilde and failing miserably. It's diverting, I'll give it that.
  • broadwaymo
    December 23, 2007
    broadwaymo
    Weak direction and poor casting choices make this screen adaptation of an Oscar Wilde play dull and completely forgettable. Helen Hunt, Mark Umbers and Scarlett Johansson take excellent dialog and give it the emotional impact one would expect from a department store mannequin. Ku... read moredos go to Tom Wilkinson for his excellent performance, as well as the costuming and set designers for their contributions to this snoozer of a film.
  • PinkMinkPrincess
    June 10, 2011
    PinkMinkPrincess
    I know it isn't PC to say this, I didn't find Helen Hunt Pretty enough to be believable in this Role, although see acted the Corset out of It!!! A Favorite Oscar Wilde Play for me, so naturally I loved the Movie & Helen Hunt won me over as this Scheming Woman who has Worn out he... read morer Welcome in New York Social Society ,so inserts herself into the Elite 1930's Social Society off the Amalfi Coast hoping to Beg, Borrow, or Steal a Husband of Stature.Her Manner of Dress & Behavior appears more Scandalous than it actually is when her Secret is Reveled.A Juicy Period Piece with a Twist ,Oscar Wilde Style

View All A Good Woman Reviews

Critic Reviews

Liam Lacey
February 17, 2006
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

... willfully odd movie ... Full Review

Mick LaSalle
February 3, 2006
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Something is wrong with A Good Woman: The lightning never strikes. It's never quite alive. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
February 3, 2006
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

Wilde isn't supposed to be lovely, or charming. He's supposed to be funny, wicked, rude and as full of serious feeling as a lavender butterfly. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
February 3, 2006
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

A Good Woman is such a dreary affair that it makes you wonder whether the last Wilde adaptation -- the critically lambasted The Importance of Being Earnest with Reese Witherspoon -- was really that ba...

Jack Mathews
February 3, 2006
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News

Besides the consuming, universal glibness of its characters, A Good Woman is also undermined by some ditsy casting. Full Review

Kevin Crust
February 3, 2006
Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times

A Good Woman won't ruin anyone's day, but it won't make anyone's either, and it won't get the great Irish playwright anything like the admiration his work deserves. Full Review

Bruce Westbrook
February 3, 2006
Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle

For those in the mood for love, A Good Woman is more than good. It's one of the best films of the new year. Full Review

Terry Lawson
February 3, 2006
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Rarely have so many regularly employed professionals created something so utterly undistinguished as A Good Woman. Full Review

Mario Tarradell
February 3, 2006
Mario Tarradell, Dallas Morning News

For the eyes, it's a cinematic banquet filled with the colors, wardrobe and scenery of 1930s Italy. For the mind, it's a sleek, intelligent story about love and money. Full Review

Ty Burr
February 3, 2006
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

A Good Woman above all lacks the joyful, lucid anger that lights up Wilde's plays -- the sense that beneath the witticisms he's telling it like it is to people who aren't used to hearing it. Full Review

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A Good Woman Trivia

  • What 1997 film featured Jack Nicholson as a man with Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder, Greg Kinnear as his gay neighbor and Helen Hunt as the woman he falls in love with?  Answer »
  • The movie "A Good Woman" was based on a Shakespearean play. True or False?  Answer »
  • Helen Hunt,Scarlett Johansson and Mark Umbers stars in this 2005 movie produce in GB....  Answer »
  • what was the name of the chinese film where a married woman went to the good doctor to eat embryos to try and look younger ?  Answer »
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