The King's Speech

I absolutely love movies.  My husband and I don't get to the movie theater as often as we used to so we try to reserve our outings for movies we deem worthy of the big screen.  After a long busy day filled with a dance lesson, errands, and having friends over for lunch and moving furniture for a few hours, we happily left the kids with a sitter for a few hours to go see The King's Speech.  Our time and money was VERY well spent.

As a long time Colin Firth fan I pretty much see all of his movies.  My husband obliges because the movies are usually good and this one is no exception.  In this film he plays King George VI who succeeded his brother to the British throne (he was the husband of the late Queen Mum, and father to Elizabeth II, etc) and suffered from a terrible stutter.  A reluctant monarch, King George VI faced the task of rallying his country on the eve of World War 2 through the new media outlet of radio.  His speech therapist is played by a wonderfully clever Geoffrey Rush who develops such an endearing character, you'll wish you could step through the screen and have a meal with Lionel to get to know him better.

The story is great, the acting is wonderful, and the direction brings out the best of both.  I was surprised that the movie was rated R given the topic but understood why after the scene where King George realizes that in addition to not stuttering when he sings and talks to himself, he also doesn't stutter when he curses.   Other than that and one other scene the language is clean and there are no violent or improper scenes.  The movie is an Oscar favorite this year and rightly so.  If you're looking for an all around good movie, I highly recommend The King's Speech.