A Good Woman Movie Review

Shot in 2004 and (sort of) released in 2006, this oddball updated of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan never quite connects, thanks largely to its awful casting of Helen Hunt in the lead role. Here, Hunt plays an American on holiday in Italy, who gets wrapped up in scandal when whe seduces the husband of a younger woman (Scarlett Johansson, not much better than Hunt here). Never mind that you'd have to be nuts to trade Johansson for Hunt, it's the problematic transition of Fan from light comedy to semi-drama (replete with period details and bodice ripping) that doesn't work at all. Despite a stellar supporting cast (with Tom Wilkinson at the head), A Good Woman never develops the slightest amount of spark or intrigue. I'm sure director Mike Barker thought he was producing Oscar bait here, but he ended up with something altogether different.