MovieChat Forums > Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) Discussion > The mumbling ruined Jennifer Jason Leigh...

The mumbling ruined Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance

posted 11 years ago by bd74
3 replies | jump to latest

It's a pity because it could've been a perfect performance. In particular, her acting in the last 20 or so minutes of the film was fantastic. But overall, it was simply hard to understand what she was saying during most of the film. I'm aware that she was imitating the way that the real Dorothy Parker spoke, but still. It was as if she was mumbling the whole way through. The fact that she wasn't nominated for an Oscar is understandable.

I loved the ensemble cast -- including a very young Gwyneth Paltrow, and Heather Graham (who would go on to achieve fame in the late 90s and early 2000s). I also loved the 1920s setting, as it's one of the decades that I greatly admire.

[–] PatrickGH91 10 years ago

I honestly don't understand this complaint. I've seen the film several times now and have had no problem whatsoever understanding Leigh's dialogue. Not to sound snooty, but perhaps it's an American thing (presuming you are American, that is). I'm sure it's largely a stereotype, but it's known that some Americans have trouble understanding accents dissimilar to their own. I'm English, so the sort of Mid-Atlantic accent Leigh speaks isn't a challenge to me.

[–] CharWoman 10 years ago

I've always had bad hearing and these days I need captions for everything, especially for non-American productions (and I watch a lot of BBC and UK movies). But I remember understanding her very well at the time, though f course my ears were 20 years younger at the time. She had a very stylized accent in The Hudsucker Proxy too, and I had no trouble with that either.

I thought she did a great job in this.

[–] moosefeathers 9 years ago

I had no problem understanding her. She was perfect as she was.

Swing away, Merrill....Merrill, swing away...