I can't think of one reason to recommend this film !

Rating: 3/10 (27 January 2011)

Another poor effort that gets incredible praise by just about everyone. This kind of thing (the film and the praise) makes me think that this may be why our world is so "screwed up" in so many ways. That is, there is little attention to detail. Instead, the "buzz" is that this is something "great" and that all reasonable people must like it. Some, such as C. Hitchens, have already pointed out significant historical flaws, but let's think of the "big picture" here. Did this speech really do much? If so, how would one demonstrate that this is true? It certainly doesn't make any sense to me. Would the British have curled up in a fetal position and surrendered to the Germans if the speech had gone terribly wrong? Of course not.
So what else is there? A "feel good story?" Okay, fine, but I'd rather see one about a person who comes from the lowest social strata overcoming great obstacles to actually do real things that help real people. Could it work as an intriguing psychological study? Yes, but it doesn't. Whether this is due to the script, the acting, something else, or some combination doesn't interest me enough to spend a lot of time thinking about it.
Is it a "historical portrait" of an era? Yes, it had to be, but it's not especially good at doing this (plenty of better films in this context)! Is it about "bullying" and how to overcome it, as some are suggesting? Sure, you're going to get me to believe that a British prince is like a gay high school student getting brutalized in today's world. And what bridge are you offering for sale this evening? Even if this were the case, I can't imagine many teenagers doing anything other than falling asleep no more than twenty minutes into this film.
Perhaps it's a "buddy film?" Oh stop it already. It just was not very good, despite the "feel-good buzz" or however such mediocre efforts get marketed as well as this one was. Let me just add that I really looked forward to this film. I was hoping for a much more historically-accurate presentation. I often watch films that I don't think are that good if there is a good overall historical rendering. The film-makers of this one, by contrast, seem to have adopted a "play it safe" strategy, and then relied on good marketing. If this film "rings true" for you and you "love" it, I have to admit that I envy you, at least on one level.