Having seen a stage production of this Oscar Wilde play, I was more than usually appreciative of the fantastic costumes and stunning on-location backdrops that are afforded when making a film. It is especially beneficial when poking fun at the extravagance of the English upper class. Production values aside, the actors did a fine job and Reese Witherspoon even managed not to seem out of place. Where Oliver Parker took liberties with the original, they perhaps didn’t live up to Wilde’s biting wit, but they were definitely in the same playful spirit.