The Duchess

Review in a Hurry: Keira Knightley rocks the hoop skirt and wigs as Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, a woman who provoked gossip of both the personal and the political. Sadly, we see more of her boudoir than her brain, the main downfall of this no-expense-spared lavish period piece.

The Bigger Picture: The parallels between 1700s England and modern day Hollywood are plenty obvious in The Duchess. As high-profile royalty, Georgiana draws crowds of admirers, breathless tabloid chronicles of her exploits and widespread obsession with her clothes.

However, unlike her current counterparts, LiLo and Paris, Georgiana had an interest in politics and a stark inability to do as she pleased. An arranged marriage with the awful Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) produces no quick male heir and plenty of disgust. Political involvement becomes one distraction from her troubles.

Regrettably, her affairs of state are upstaged by affairs of the heart. Georgiana's sex life isn't as interesting as the concept of this richly costumed, be-feathered woman taking on the issues of her day. Possibly, the filmmakers think prurience brings in crowds, but that sharply observed political intrigue can keep people in the seats.

We see Georgiana just barely get started on her intellectual journey, a disappointing tease, while coverage of her sexual dalliances seem straight out of The Red Shoe Diaries. This steamy-window treatment just doesn't do her justice.

The 180—a Second Opinion: Lip-trembling betrayal, torrid love triangles, steamy love scenes and heaving bosoms make The Duchess work on some (rather low) level. Embracing its high-flown emotions and soap-opera plot, the movie delivers in much the same way as a trashy telenovela with a bigass budget. Not sure, however, if that's what the filmmakers were going for.