Emma [VHS]
Most people didn't mind Gwyneth Paltrow's English accent in this charming, 1996 adaptation of  Jane Austen's novel (which also inspiredClueless). But even if it doesn't sound quite right to you, there are plenty of authentic and wonderful Brit thespians in this film by screenwriter-turned-director Douglas McGrath (co-author of Woody Allen'sBullets Over Broadway), including Juliet Stevenson  (Truly Madly Deeply), Alan Cumming  (Buddy), Phyllida Law (Much Ado About Nothing), Ewan McGregor (the Scots star ofTrainspotting), and Sophie Thompson, outstanding and finally heartbreaking as the chattering Miss Bates. Paltrow plays Austen's benign busybody, Emma Woodhouse--so busy trying to arrange the lives of others that she is sidestepping her own. McGrath brings a kind of pretty and light touch to the production, his best move the wise delegation of creative authority to the actors themselves.--Tom Keogh