"Downton Abbey: A New Era"

 

When the smash hit British soap opera/TV series "Downton Abbey" came to the end of its run on Public Television in 2016, fans of the series agreed that it was perfect way to wrap up the series.  Loose ends were tied up, happy endings abounded, and there was the promise of good things the future for all the characters involved.  Everyone, including the producers and the actors, said "That's it.  No more 'Downton Abbey'."

Of course, we know what happened,  A "Downton Abbey" movie was released in 2019, and fans of the series flocked to it and loved it, including Mr. and Mrs. Grandstander.  Surely, however, that would be it.  Surely there would be no further need to make yet another Downton Abbey movie.  Surely, the producers and actors will have moved on and want no further part in such an obvious money grab.

Well, nothing speaks louder in Hollywood than money, and a new movie, "Downton Abbey: A New Era" was released yesterday.  And in a feat of utter disgust for this shameless and obvious greed, The Grandstander looked Julian Fellows right in the eye and proclaimed:

Yep, there we were, at the McCandless Cinemark on Opening Day, and loving every soapy, stiff-upper-lipped moment of it.

This one takes place at the dawn of the 1930's and after the joyful wedding of Tom Branson, the movie splits in to dual plot lines.  

Plot #1:  Lady Violet, played with the usual gusto by Maggie Smith, has inherited a gorgeous seaside villa in the south of France.  Who has bequeathed this to her and, more importantly and mysteriously, why has it been bequeathed to her?  Half of the family heads off the France to check into this whole thing, while we also see unfolding....

Plot #2:  A movie production company wants to use Downton Abbey for location shooting of a motion picture.  It is hard to say who is more horrified at the prospect of a bunch of grubby actors traipsing all over the estate and stealing the silverware, the stuffy Earl, his mother the Dowager, or the even snobbier servants. However, the studio is offering a lot of money for the use of the estate, and the Granthams actually need the money to fix the roof of the old castle.  Lady Mary stays behind to supervise the whole thing and finds herself smack in the middle of a dilemma lifted straight out of "Singin' In The Rain" with Mary playing the Debbie Reynolds part. No singing or dancing, of course.  Oh, and the filming of this movie-within-the-movie ends with a completely contrived "Hey, kids, let's put on a show" type of finale, but what the hell,  it's all a jolly good time.

No spoilers, but a dose of sadness comes with this iteration of the Downton Abbey Saga, but it is sadness that is overlaid with optimism as well.  

Plus, Lady Mary, played by the lovely Michelle Dockery, has made a 180 degree turn since this story began.  She started off as a spoiled, bitchy, brat, and has become a more than competent, compassionate, and selfless person.  She will obviously become the Grantham who will lead the family into the future as the middle part of the twentieth century approaches, and she won't need a man to help her do it, either.

I only wish that Lady Rose, as played by Lily James, was still a part of this tale, but - sigh - you can't have everything.

The Grandstander just can't help himself:  Four Stars for this one!

As far as the next Downton Abbey movie is concerned, it surely has to be centered around Edward VIII, Wallis Warefield Simpson, and that nasty bit of business surrounding the abdication, don't you think?

"Downton Abbey"....The Movie

Before I comment on the new movie, "Downton Abbey", allow me to cut-n-paste from my Grandstander post of March 8, 2016, a post that was made right after the final episode to this Masterpiece Theater series aired.....

• I will give no spoilers here, but I will say that the Final Episode of "Downton Abbey" that aired this past Sunday was just about perfect.  Loose ends tied up, happy endings, and just a hint of good things to happen for the various characters.  And did you notice that the final line of spoken dialog belonged to Maggie Smith, the Dowager Countess?  As it was with most of her lines over six seasons, it was perfect.

• Of course, now the inevitable talk of a "Downton Abbey" reunion movie begins.  I suppose that the money will be irresistible to all concerned, and I would be in the theater the first week such a movie opens, but a part of me thinks that it would be best to resist the cash grab. Isn't it an old show biz saying that it's always best to leave the audience wanting more?

Well, as I always like to say, I believe I had that.  The fans demanded a movie follow up, no one was able to resist coming back for what has been, essentially, a big old fashioned money grab, and there we were, sitting in the Tull Theater in Sewickley last night for a sneak preview showing of the movie, "Downton Abbey", one day before its "official" opening.  As my friend Dan like to say, we stared Julian Fellows right in the eye and said "Shut up and take our money."

So how was it?  It was great, and the double date duo of the Sproules and the Bonks loved, loved, loved it!!

The movie takes place in 1927 (no mention was made in the film of what Babe Ruth was doing over in the colonies that particular summer, so what was up with that?), and the Crawleys receive notice that King George V and Queen Mary will be traveling about and will be spending a day and a night with them at Downton Abbey!  Oh, the excitement, and oh the preparations that must take place before this Royal Visit. But, of course, there are going to be complications.  As our friend Bonny put it (she saw it earlier in the week, before we did!), many of the plot points in the movie are contrived beyond belief, but, what the Hell, that all add up to great Downton Abbey-style fun.

In the space of a two hour movie, many of the characters who were developed over the course of a six year series are reduced almost to cameo status (Mr. Bates, for example, and maybe even Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham himself), and the filmmakers seemed to try perhaps a bit too much to get everyone involved in a piece the action, so that it seems a bit forced, but, again, so what?  If you were a fan if the series, you are going to love every bit of the soapy silliness of the movie.

Not surprisingly, the best lines throughout the movie were given to Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess as she traded barbs with with Penelope Wilton's Isobel Merton.   And she also was a part of the most touching scene in the film when she spoke with Lady Mary, played by the beautiful Michelle Dockery.

The movie is also just flat out gorgeous to look at.  Beautiful scenery, beautiful costumes, and beautiful people.  A jolly good show!

I doubt that anyone other than fans of the TV series will see this movie, and that will surely be enough to make this a box office smash.  I only hope that the producers will resist the urge, and the urge will surely be there, to make another  Downton Abbey movie.  Please don't overdo it.  But if they do, The Grandstander will no doubt show up and force Julian Fellows and company to take his money.

Because of some of the aforementioned plot contrivances, I might be tempted to give this one Three and one-half stars, but I'm going to get caught up in the fanboy aura that emanates from "Downton Abbey"  - it gets the full Four Stars from The Grandstander!!!