Review: Mr Malcolm’s List (movie, 2022)
This was so much fun! Apart from the Bridgertonised casting, which was lovely, there’s nothing particularly to distinguish this from a thousand other lightweight Regency-style romantic comedies, and it’s absolutely not historically correct, but I enjoyed it and found it entertaining in a frothy kind of way.
The premise is that the gorgeous and rich and therefore highly eligible Mr Malcolm is also highly picky. He’s looking for a bride, certainly, but he has a list of qualities he finds indispensable. When Julia Thistlewaite is slighted by said Mr Malcolm and discovers it’s because she failed some of the tests on his list, she determines to get her revenge. She summons from the country her old school friend Selena Dalton and ‘grooms’ her, with the aid of her cousin who’s seen the actual list, to be just the bride that Mr Malcolm is looking for. The plan is for Selena to ditch Mr Malcolm by telling him that he doesn’t match up with the items on her list!
Inevitably, Mr Malcolm and Selena are very soon falling into love, they are indeed perfectly suited and all seems set fair for a happy ending. Mr Malcolm invites everyone to a house party at his estate where he plans to propose, and Selena tells Julia that she doesn’t intend to go through with the deception. So what can possibly go wrong? Well, Mr Malcolm inevitably finds out about the scheme and feels (not surprisingly) that he’s been duped. After that things unravel in spectacular fashion, and it takes a lot of manipulation, not least by Mr Malcolm’s mother, before things come right.
This isn’t, of course, a serious attempt to recreate the Regency period. The costumes are lovely, and some of the language is period authentic, but there are too many errors to make it a comfortable watch for purists. I winced every time one or other character attempted to bow or curtsy, or worse, neglected to do so at all. Introductions were terrible, the dancing was awful with absolutely no attempt at any recognisable format and don’t get me started on the lack of chaperonage. There was only one outrageous title error, however.
I won’t complain about the implausibility of the plot, because it was meant to be light-hearted and therefore one doesn’t expect plot logic or sensible character arcs. It’s all about the funny moments, and the set-piece visuals. I did like the eye-rolling of the footman, however, which added a much-needed note of levity to scenes which might otherwise only have been mildly amusing.
As for the Bridgertonisation of the cast, mixing up actors of all ethnicities seemingly at random, I liked the freshness of it, although I couldn’t resist trying to detect subtle underlying messages in the choice of one actor or another for certain roles. Probably there was none, and they were merely chosen for their acting ability, but it amused me to wonder about it. All the actors were fine, although I was especially pleased to see Theo James in a minor role, having missed him from later series of Sanditon.
Overall, a fun movie, not for purists or anyone looking for serious themes, but as a Regency-lite type of rom-com, it whiles away a pleasant couple of hours.
