# The king's speech **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 19, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752 "2010-12-19T21:36:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/1 "2010-12-19T21:36:20Z")
Just saw this film, [THE KING’S SPEECH](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1504320/). Great film, marvellous acting, dramatic story with plenty of comedy and no tragedy, well photographed, etc. etc. Ticket prices being what they are, I’m delighted when I feel like I got my money’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/2 "2010-12-19T23:17:44Z")
I saw this the other night and agree, it’s a very good movie, for all the reasons you mentioned. I don’t know how accurate it is, but I don’t care, it was very entertaining and quite moving. I would bet that it’ll be Colin Firth’s Oscar to lose. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/3 "2010-12-20T14:35:45Z")
I can’t wait to see this… but I think I’m going to have to. It’s still in limited release, right? ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/4 "2010-12-20T16:47:18Z")
Cannot wait to see this one. It was in limited release last week, but I do believe it will get general distribution this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/5 "2010-12-20T17:06:45Z")
Couldn’t believe my lucky stars to have stumbled across this as the opening night selection of the Marin Film Festival back in October. Saw it for a second time opening weekend in San Francisco, about two weeks ago. Apparently it is still in “Art Theaters” but I predict it will hit wide release as more accolades are dumped on it. Once all the Oscar noms are in and this film leads the pack, it will become Film of the Year. Colin Firth rocks. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/6 "2010-12-26T01:28:38Z")
Saw it today. Fantastic. Don’t miss it. Very talky- NO action (yippee! my kind of film!) but riveting. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/7 "2010-12-26T01:33:36Z")
Yep, no explosions! Wouldn’t every movie be better without explosions?\* Riveting film with great performances and great writing. \*Answer: yes. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/8 "2010-12-26T01:43:30Z")
This one has wait for rental written all over it IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/9 "2010-12-26T02:02:22Z")
A naive question, but what makes the rating for this film R? ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/10 "2010-12-26T02:55:26Z")
Language. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/11 "2010-12-26T04:11:51Z")
I did not think this would be as entertaining as it was. I was just looking for a movie I could take my parent’s to. I’m glad I saw it. I really recommend it. It’s not the ultra slow Masterpiece Theater thing you might think. The gathering storm of WW2 lends the film actual suspense, and the relationship between the prince and the lowly speech therapist is quite moving and often funny. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/12 "2010-12-26T07:29:39Z")
Saw it tonight and really enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed Timothy Spall as Churchill. My, what a messed up family! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/13 "2010-12-26T14:47:20Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > A naive question, but what makes the rating for this film R? During the speech lessons, the patient finds he can help himself past the stammering if he curses, so lot’s of R-rated words. Unique context, I’d say. This is one of the funniest, most charming parts of a fabulous movie. No explosions and everyone leaves their clothes on, but riveting. At another poster said, you can feel “the gathering storm.” ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/14 "2010-12-26T14:48:30Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > My, what a messed up family! So true. As Bertie put it (and the Royals do today) “It’s not a family; it’s a firm.” ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/15 "2010-12-27T20:44:32Z")
Very good movie. I loved the cinematography…something I very rarely even notice in a movie. I found it amusing that the solution to problem at the end was revealed in the very first session but never brought up again. Yes it wasn’t a solution to the larger problem… but for the radio addresses… ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/16 "2010-12-28T05:51:33Z")
I just saw it today. I wondered why they didn’t just stick music headphones on Bertie and have him speak into the microphone. StG ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/17 "2010-12-28T18:39:20Z")
I also found it exceptional. Great to have your attention kept by the characters and dialogue. So funny! And that Colin Firth can sure wear a suit! ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/18 "2010-12-28T22:12:00Z")
I saw it yesterday and I agree with everyone else’s comments. It’s a lovely, uplifting film. Several people in the audience at the cinema burst into applause at the end of the king’s final address! The one jarring note for me was Jennifer Ehle’s attempt at an Australian accent. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/19 "2010-12-29T04:17:32Z")
I’m not a big movie kind of a guy. I loved it. Made me cry, too…very moving, very real, and very reminiscent of some things that have happened in my own life. The sense of hopelessness expressed by the actor who played the king was–tangible. I did have one question–a historical one. Did anyone ever consider using a professional actor to read the king’s speeches, pretending to be Bertie, once it became abundantly clear that radio was a thing of the present and that it’d be required for any king to make speeches to the nation and beyond (loved that big radio room with “Bechuanaland” and “the Leeward islands” among many others)? If not, why not? If yes, why was this idea rejected? ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752/20 "2010-12-29T04:26:59Z")
BTW, did anyone else laugh at the scene with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle meet for the first time and Geoffrey Rush stammers the introduction, “Uh, I think you too know each other…” Of course an inside joke to the fact that Jennifer and Colin were a couple while filming what is arguably the best version of [_Pride and Prejudice_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112130/)? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kings-speech/564752.md?page=2)