Noël Coward was a playwright of such talent and skill he was referred to by Time magazine as a writer with a "sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise." Although Coward had already written several successful plays by the time he put pen to page for Easy Virtue in 1924, it’s widely held that this work was the one that cemented Coward’s signature wit and style as an art form. Well, in the new film adaptation of Easy Virtue it seems that the play’s the thing as Coward’s original words are easily transferred to the big screen, and for the most part are related intact. And thanks to the actors, the film is a zany, mad cap, snap crackle and pop of a comedy.

The last time Easy Virtue was put to film, the year was 1928 and the man behind the camera was none other than Alfred Hitchcock. It’s curious, I have to say, so much of a play is dependent on the dialogue, especially in a story like this, that I wonder how the whole thing might play out as a silent film. Anyway, for the uninformed, Coward’s work is for anyone that like dry British wit, thinly veiled insults and cutting melodrama that doesn’t play out like a soap opera. It’s about a top notch cast, well rehearsed and delivering their lines like a finely tuned machine gun. The actors themselves seem raised by the material; the untested or otherwise hidden abilities of certain members of the cast are allowed to shine through.

The story is about the Whittaker family, English aristocrats in the 1920s struggling to balance the outward appearance of their status with the realities of dwindling bank accounts. The Head and Lady of the household (Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas) are pleased to hear the news that their son John (Ben Barnes) is returning from his trips abroad. They are however less pleased when they learn that he’s returning with his new wife Larita (Jessica Biel), an American race car driver. Needless to say that a culture clash between all parties ensues with Mrs Whittaker trying frantically to convince John to dump Larita in favour for the more suitable and more well off Sarah Hurst (Charlotte Riley), as Mr. Whittaker finds his post-war malaise kind of drift away in the presence of Larita.

It’s farce, it’s family comedy, it’s really too well played to be ignored. Jessica Biel, often ostracized for being nothing more than petty eye candy, proves ably that when she’s tested in a role that she too can work wonders. I wish the same can be said for Ben Barnes, who was more than a little bland playing the heroic titular character in Prince Caspian and herein demonstrates a similar ability to seem so disconnected from the material. While everyone’s singing, Barnes seems content to be merely keeping time. Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas are excellent of course. Firth’s typical boyish good looks covered by an inch think of dishevel as Mr. Whittaker while Scott-Thomas gets to play typical English indignation like she’s been doing in for years.

Easy Virtue is full of good cheer, but not without its faults. Much of the final melodrama eschews the majority of the film’s screwball mentality and takes up the embrace of true soap operatics. I also found that the film gets sticky in places as the comedy seems to grind to a halt. Much of this happens when the action moves outside the family drawing room, which is hardly surprising given the fact that that’s the stage of the play. Still, this is a movie and it has to stand on its own as such, but any which way you dice it when the film is on, it’s really on. Enjoyable in that typically English way, Easy Virtue is bound to be crowd pleasing, even if it’s not the best staged version of the play.