Being British, I was really impressed with Maggies accent. If I didn't know she was American, I never would have guessed.
Added bonus, she looked really hot too!
Jimmy Two Times: I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers.
I agree that Maggie did a good job - accent fine, cute etc. I also think she's a good actress.
I just thought it was an odd choice to get her to play the role. In what was a very British film why would you use her to play the Mum. Weren't there any suitable Brits available? It's not like she has big drawing power of her own (AFAIK).
"They who... give up... liberty to obtain... safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
[deleted]
i think her accent for the main was terrible and cringed every time she spoke. she has been to the gwyneth paltrow school of accents, not always a good thing.it used to be that the british could never do american accents while the americans did great british accents, the tide has turned.
shareGive me some examples of Britishers who do good American accents.
Don't use Hugh Laurie, I already know him and agree that his American accent is astoundingly authentic.
No idea if anyone's mentioned hi yet, no time to read them all.
Johnny Lee Miller does a brilliant american accent. Im the extras of the DVD of Eli Stone, which I just got (had to buy region 1 cos it isn't realeased over here), it says they thought he was american at the auditions. And I've seen americans say the same thing on threads & boards.
I read an interview where he said he thinks it's as important part of acting to get the accent right as to learn the lines.
Not that it was always true, there was at least one film a few years ago where he admits he did it really badly, some southern US accent.
How about Vivien Leigh's Southern Accent in "Gone with the Wind"? Anna Friel from "Pushing Daisies"? Can't count Hugh Jackman because he's Australian, but as a foreign actor, he has a fantastic American Accent. Colin Farrell is Irish, which is part of the UK, so it counts in the British column. Ditto with Scottish James McAvoy. Matthew Rhys of "Brothers and Sisters" and Ed Westwick from "Gossip Girls" are undetectable as Brits. Mostly men you say? Did you know that Gabrielle Anwar who plays Fiona in "Burn Notice" is British? The reason you don't realize there are so many of them is because they are so good.
shareI'm American, but have lived in the UK for years. Vivian Lee sounded fake to me. But a true American Southern accent is REALLY difficult for non-Southern Americans to pull off as well. Every American I can think of sucks at it. Too broad. So when Miranda Richardson pulled off her brilliant Southern woman in Robert Duval's "The Apostle" I assumed she was American. Looked her up, and she's English! Brilliant! Minnie Driver is another English woman with a flawless American accent. Tracey Ullman CAN do great American voices, albeit novelty, or comedy ones. A few Brits do good American accents, but not flawlessly. That is, when the speak I accept their characters, but know that "something" is up with the actor (and that's totally fine). Jake Weber (Sp?) as the American husband in TV's "Medium" is good, but I always had a niggling suspicion he was foreign; he's English. Aaron Johnson as the star of "Kick Ass" was good, too, but not 100% "flat" as an American (again, as an artist he pulled it off anyway). The guy who did the dad on TV's "Frasier" may be an all-time great trick. He is from Manchester, and I never suspected he is English.
shareThe guy who did the dad on TV's "Frasier" may be an all-time great trick. He is from Manchester, and I never suspected he is English:
John Mahony might be UK born, but his US accent is not a put on, more likely if he would ever use a British accent it would be.
"Colin Farrell is Irish, which is part of the UK, so it counts in the British column."
Fiveoaks, please get an education. Colin Farrell is Irish therefore he must be from the UK?? He is from Dublin which is the capital city of the Republic of Ireland which is an independent country and has been since the 1920's. People from the Republic of Ireland are Irish, not British. 6 counties of Northern Ireland belong to the British therefore those counties are part of the UK.
Back on subject - I thought Maggie's accent was spot-on. She did a great job and was wonderful in the role.
In relation to British actors doing American accents, I think Andrew Lincoln does a good job in "The Walking Dead". Joseph Fienne's accent was pretty good in "Fast Forward". Same as the actress who played his on-screen wife, Sonya Wagner. Owain Yeoman who plays Rigsby in "The Mentalist" does a great American accent.
Catherine Zeta Jones is also another. Emma Thompson, Kenneth Brannagh, Rachel Weisz, Kate Winslet, Emily Blunt. I'm sure I've left many out but that's all I can think of right now.
I thought her accent was ok too, but there was one line she said that just made me cringe- when she asks the boy cousin why he's wearing a "gasssss masssssk" ugh!! She really hissed the s's... That one line I didn't like.
How about Mark Addy? I watched him on the television show Still Standing for 2 years and was stunned to see him land a role in the recent Robin Hood movie. Then I checked his bio and found that his birthplace was in England and he had been in British films before landing the role. When I tell others that he was born in England they are as stunned as I. As an American, I could detect nothing in his accent.
.*´¨¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ Think heavenly, act locally...
I am an American. I agree that there are MANY Brits with good American accents. Four I can think of at this moment are:
Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black, Mystery Men)
Catherine Zeta Jones
Angela Lansbury (I found out she was English only a few days ago).
Christian Bale is a fantastic example. He not only does a good generic midwestern American dialect, he has used different American dialects. And he's been doing them well since he was a kid! I first saw him in the 80s in Newsies. I had no idea he was British until about 10 years ago. He would even interview with an American accent!
Her accent was okay, but she was terrible. A messy, slovenly, drip of a woman. Maybe the character was supposed to be that bad, but ugh! She didn't even look good in the wedding memories montage. And since she mostly ran about waving her arms in the air like a fool, and screeching, it was hard to judge the accent. Awful casting.
shareI think they wanted an American actress for the U.S market.
shareI agree that Maggie did a good job - accent fine, cute etc. I also think she's a good actress.
I just thought it was an odd choice to get her to play the role. In what was a very British film why would you use her to play the Mum. Weren't there any suitable Brits available? It's not like she has big drawing power of her own.
I love Emma Thompson, so I'll see this movie (even though I really can't stand children's films. I have none, and I don't like their films). However, I CAN'T STAND Maggie G. I don't know why Emma cast her. I know they played together (not in any specific scenes, however) in Stranger than Fiction...perhaps they struck up a friendship then, because Emma said that she wrote the part with Maggie in mind. I just can't even look at her. I think Maggie has a very strange-looking face, and her raspy voice is even more annoying, and her sunken chest and bony shoulders are even further annoying. And, I've never thought much of her as an actress. So, I don't even know if I'm going to see this movie. However, my love for Emma is stronger than my complete dislike of Maggie. So, I'll probably check it out.
Emma is supposed to take some time off now, for a while. I hope she returns in a fantastic role in which she is either a corporate bit*h, or a psycho murderer, or, as someone who is being victimized. I would just like to see her in a drama or mystery of some sort.
Your shallow dislike of an actress is utterly disgusting. You hate her because you think she's ugly?
I thought her accent was wonderful, and I think she was cast perfectly for the role.
I honestly would be annoyed with any movie that has an American playing the role of a Britton. Even if their accent is flawless it iritates me that the movie producers have hired an American instead of a British actor.
share
Do you feel similarly when they hire Brits to play American rolls? Could it possibly be, maybe, just a teeny bit, that THEY HIRE THE BEST ACTOR FOR THE JOB!?!? What does a person's nationality have to do with it? Or should only Canadians act in Canada, Australians in Australia, etc?
____
As a reward for your bravery, you will both find permanent homes on adult contemporary radio.
I honestly would be annoyed with any movie that has an American playing the role of a Britton. Even if their accent is flawless it iritates me that the movie producers have hired an American instead of a British actor.
No....I dislike her because I don't like her voice...it's raspy to listen to it. I'm just not crazy about her....Jesus. People have opinions about actors and actresses that run the gamut from how they appear to how they act to how they sound to how they interpret parts...to a whole host of reasons. Do you like every single actor who's on the screen???? Maggie is simply not one of my favorites. She was good in Sherry Baby, which I just saw a week or so ago, after I posted my comment above. However, for the most part...I just don't find her an appealing actress in many respects.
Get a life.
IF YOU READ MY ENTIRE POST, I SAID THAT I NEVER THOUGHT MUCH OF HER AS AN ACTRESS, AND IT IS FOR THIS REASON PRIMARILY THAT I'M NOT VERY FOND OF HER. Jesus Christ....you're the pathetic one. You've never heard of anyone stating a negative opinion of any actor before???? Get off your damn high horse.
shareI hate Maggie G. too. There are very few actors who are deal breakers for me, but she is one. I, however, was assigned to review this film, and found her, for the first time to be not just palatable but an actual joy to watch. She was warm and full of life and her performance didn't seem to be a "performance" but a character she actually inhabited. I hope, should you see this, that you feel the same!
shareHowever, I CAN'T STAND Maggie G. I don't know why Emma cast her. I just can't even look at her. I think Maggie has a very strange-looking face, and her raspy voice is even more annoying, and her sunken chest and bony shoulders are even further annoying.
It never fails to amaze me the amount of heated discussion this topic always causes between both sides of the atlantic, when you get an American doing a British accent, or vice versa.
I personally thought Maggie G., did a fantastic job. I am British myself, and apart from the (very) occasional slip, she conviced me that she was British. I also thought she was damn hot in this film too!!.
As for the film itself, not a patch on the first one, but enjoyable.
- JRB
To the original poster: Thank you for your post.
To those of you who are engaged in the "good/bad" accent debate here's a thought:
Whenever someone's accent in a movie annoys you, try telling yourself this little story: The back story on the character in the movie is that when they were young they, for whatever reason, spent time in another country during their formative years. That is why their accent is not as pure and pristine as you would expect.
Maybe if you could tell yourself this story, and move on from the characters accent, you would be able to enjoy the movie, the story, the plot, and the acting - especially in a movie as wonderful as this.
Just a thought.
My immediate thought was that Maggie did a very good British accent. As the movie progressed I realised her accent sounded alot like Emma Thompson's. I then remembered reading a magazine interview with both of them a while back, in which they talked about their great friendship offscreen. I've been a fan of Emma Thompson's for years and love hearing her speak. I'm picking Maggie either modelled her accent on Emma's or Emma gave her lessons.
Either way, I think she sounds great.
*´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ Kim
Being a fan of Maggie's, I could tell when her accent slipped, but those were very few.
If you want to hear English actors with a flawless American accent, check out Band of Brothers. I was truly surprised how the majority of actors weren't American-born, especially Damian Lewis, Shane Taylor (who had to sound Cajun/French), Nicholas Aaron, Philip Barantini, and Doug Allen (from EastEnders).
On the same note, while I LOVE Sophia Myles, her American accent in Moonlight was completely atrocious on the ears.
I think Maggie was in this because Emma was in the movie 'Stranger Than Fiction' with her. Emma is the writer, so perhaps she had Maggie's face in mind? I would like to think so.
"A true leader does what is right, no matter what others think." - Dumbledore