"The King's Speech"

If you have been reading the movie news and the early show biz award nominations, you know that "The King's Speech" is all the rage among critics, will be featured at or near the top of everybody's Top Ten List for 2010, and is heavily favored to make a big haul at the Academy Awards next year.

Today, Mrs. Grandstander and I ventured out to see what all the fuss was about, and we have to agree with all the hype: this is a terrific movie. Great acting by Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter, and a terrific and gripping story, made all the more so because it is a true story. I, of course, have absolutely no memory of King George VI, but it is fascinating to see the importance of a leader in a time of crises, as the King was at the outset of World War II. It is also neat to see a younger version of the King's wife, Queen Elizabeth, whom I knew only as the Queen Mother, or Queen Mum, as well as the little girls, Princesses Margaret and (future Queen) Elizabeth.

If you are looking for something other than a "popcorn movie" or bit of RomCom fluff this Holiday Season, then I strongly suggest that you make haste to see "The King's Speech."

As we were driving home, we were comparing this movie to the movie "The Queen" of a few years back. Marilyn had a great observation. She remarked about how kind and sympathetic Elizabeth, the wife of George VI, was in "The King's Speech" and what "a bitch" she was in "The Queen." An excellent point that you probably won't read in other reviews of this movie.

Thought I would close with an actual photo of the protagonists of "The King's Speech."