Wow!  Once again we have a British movie, with non-British actors doing stereotypically 'upper-class' British accents.  You can always tell the faux accents coz they're all the same!!  I honestly don't think I have ever met anyone who actually talks like that!

 But to give them their dues, Cate Blanchett and Gwyneth Paltrow are both convincing, and I'll back you on the Lohan, for an 11 year old she was awesome.

Piper Perabo did a pretty good job, faking an english accent, in Imagine me & you ! (she's not english, right ?) 

cast English people for English roles and not always for the baddie or the gay best friend!

seriously the only person i can think of who had a good english accent in a movie was piper perabo in imagine me and you and that's cos her character was intended to be the type of english person who has that accent!

all the rest might sound vauguely British but no one in britain actually sounds like that unless you live in a massive country house in the middle of nowhere, or you're the queen!

Bridget Jones was definetly the worst as she had all the right dialogue for a working class girl who drinks, smokes and is unmaried (obviously generalising horribly, sorry) but her accent was way too upper class!

ugh Hollywood pisses me off in that sense!

and BTW lindsay Lohan didn't do an english accent in the parent trap, atleast it didn't sound like one to me, also hayley mills did a pretty good american accent when she was in the parent trap, why can't it work both ways!

In Anna and the King Jodie did a very good English accent, although as usual it was posh English rather than the rather more common way that most of us speak, but I'd say 10 out of 10.

Piper Perabo was good too, but Heather and Mia, not so good. That said I'd probably watch it anyway!!!

Kaz

...but did anyone notice that they spelled Mia Kirshner's name wrong in that trailer?? They spelled it as "Kirschner", adding an unnecessary "c". Random.

And personally, I'm a little ambivalent towards the whole faking accent thing as long as it works. And most fakers I've heard sound alright -- then again I'm not exposed to accents everyday so take it as you will.

"I do not have many vitamins but I am 100% of the daily allowance of DELICIOUS!"

It is easy to speak with received pronunciation (i.e. posh) but what American can do a convincing regional British accent? I can't think of anyone.

As for the complaints about taking away British jobs what about the Americans who missed out on Sarah Connor, Jamie Sommers and Chuck? Hang on, maybe that's why Heather and Mia are in this film...

Angelina Jolie in the Tomb Raider movies.  I know, I know; not exactly cinematic marvels, but I thought her accent was pretty convincing.  Or, I think it was...I wasn't exactly there for the dialogue. 

Well as a British person I can say that from that trailer those accents were not amazing. Although I'd have to see the whole film to make a proper judgement.

They seemed a little Over The Top to be honest. Doing the typical southern posh accent that all american actors seem to use when playing someone english.

Id love to see someone do a northern accent, like a proper yorkshire accent, or a chav accent. That would be quite funny actually 'Dat iz ill! Init Boss'. Ha Ha Ha, Anyway yeah, Natalie Portmans accent in V For Vendetta was gud, Kudos to her.

make me giggle and a lot of the time get on my nerves.  It seems that only one accent is ever attempted - the stereotypical upper class...and quite frankly very few people speak like that over here...i think it would be awesome funny if someone would attempt a geordie accent...or even a scouse accent no matter how annoying...although that could be a step too far...but still another accent other than the upper class!

I'm sorry but these women cannot fake a british accent. Sorry to dissapoint but about 5 people over here talk like that and they were probably American to start with :p I was expecting good things and then it was just another 'la di da this is how british people talk' accent.

Bridget Jones is the WORST!!! haha I cringed all through that.

People are saying Piper was good in IM&Y......not so much, she was a bit la di da too.

Watch a British movie and see how far from our accents it really is.

a) I'm British

and

b) I have ears.

I can't say that I'm particularly impressed with either of the accents. Mia sounds like she's attempting an impression of Rachel Shelley playing Helena and Heather Graham is, well, Heather Graham. (For the record, I'm not always convinced that Rachel sounds British when doing that role and I know she is)! I love Mia but fear this may not be her finest hour. The main reason for that is; another film about breeding!! Why!?! Seriously, Hollywood and BFI, women are interested in more than spawning.

Apologies for mini rant, but all this film/TV time spent on the breed or not to breed subject is making me irksome.

It doesn't sound authentic! No one actually speaks like that here. If you do have a posh upper class accent in England it's more sort of... chirping the high notes... some upper class people sound like they have marbles in their mouth.

I think the fake ones are more fake-received pronunciation.. so middle class accents, fake accents always drawl a lot more than these ones too, so you can tell... Or maybe that's just me?

I'm British too, so maybe that's why...

I have to say it bothers me most when they have American actresses for English writers - something to do with the inherent English-ness of English literature... I mean American literature has its own gems, I'm not claiming English literature is better but... it's English. It's in the name!

I would say the same about an Englishman playing Robbie Burns (British, yes, not English) or John Steinbeck. Please leave Jane Austen and Beatrix Potter to the English women, please! We do have some decent actresses here too!

I'm not convinced, and I am not even a native English speaker.

I will just echo what many have already said before me: Why can't they just cast British actors in British roles? 

- - - - - - - - - -

-Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

Who doesn't blog these days?

I'm sorry but that film looks awful....and the accents aren't a whole lot more impressive.In fact,they suck (sorry Mia) I appreciate that they're making an effort and that the movie isn't necessarily aimed at the British market but still, it is painful to think that a great proportion of Americans (not the enlightened crowd to be found on this site,of course!) thinks we all sound like we've got pokers up our bums.Regional dialects and accents are so common nowadays that to hear this generic 'English' accent passed off as the norm is ignorant and insulting. I agree,the Brits are also guilty of butchering the American accent (although Hugh Laurie surely makes up for a lot of crimes,no?) but I fail to understand why production companies can't employ the real deal,a la Rachel Weisz or Kate Winslet.

rant over . . .

Whenever anyone who isn't British attempts a British accent it just...it doesn't work haha. All they come out with is an Oxbridge accent, they just sound like the Princes and Harry Potter. I swear, as much as i adore Harry Potter, it does decieve the world into thinking most British people sound like that.

If people wanna find out what the largest majority of British people sound like, watch shows that are set within a region. Most British people have a regional accent - Cockney, Scouser, Geordie, Brummie, Manc etc, or, like me, just plain farmer-like northern ha. 

That aint no Etch-a-Sketch...

How about all the Brits, Aussies and Kiwis doing the American accents? (not all women)

Michelle Ryan in   Bionic Woman

Hugh Laurie in     House

Julian McMahon        Charmed and Nip Tuck

Lucy Lawless        Xena

Those are quickies I thought of, I'm sure there are more

To be honest her accent kinda annoyed me in V for Vendetta. I always think that Americans seem to act slightly more 'proper' or stiff when they act British and ALWAYS sound sooo posh, when it's not even necessary for the character. Piper Perabo was probably the best out of the list. I suppose her posh accent could be forgiven considering that the character seemed to be a bit anyway, but why is it that British people in movies are always portrayed to be upper-middle class-ish?

I'd love to see an american try to impersonate (or even hear) a glaswegian accent, a north wales accent, a scouse or geordie accent.

Maybe it's because all they see is the hugh Grants and Helen Baxendale's (Emily in friends) in america and don't know that theres an accent outside of upper class london.

in regards to the turnabout comment, I think Hugh Laurie does a cracking job on house.

Hate it when Americans are doing an English accent. It sounds so unnatural. I'm not from the UK, but watch all kinds of English things all the time. Even on a rare occasion when someone does speak with the posh British accent, it never sounds like the way the Americans do it. I don't really know how to describe it. I must say there are some actors who are doing quite a good job, for example although I hate Renee Zelweger, I think her accent is quite good in BJD. And there are some more actors who can do it, can't really think of any right now though. Piper Perabo's accent sucked though! Funny enough the other way around it's not the case at all. I guess it's because most British actors actually studied acting and have to learn a lot of accents, but I can't be sure... Brits all the way! LOL

http://www.youtube.com/BetweenThaLines