It must be the accent. I mean, seriously. I dare any woman within earshot to deny the power of a British accent. I'm not one to swoon (though I saw Michael Buble in concert a few years back and I came VERY CLOSE to swooning), but what is up with the accent effect?
Take Colin Firth, for example. You know him, right? The original Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (pause for a moment of respect, please), the affable and sweetly awkward guy in Love Actually, the stuttering king in The King's Speech...I have a friend, Murl, who absolutely goes weak in the knees if I say the words "Colin. Firth." Down she goes, all fluttery and breathless.
Here's a man who is not particularly gorgeous. In fact, if you saw him on the street (and he wasn't wearing an ascot), you might think "Accountant." Or "Botanist." Or "Was that man wearing Rockports?" Certainly not "Oscar-winning actor who makes women faint when he speaks."
But I do get all mushy and nostalgic and sigh-y when I watch Colin and any number of his cohorts. Masterpiece Classic on PBS kills me. I mean it. I just finished watching the whole of Downton Abbey and now I'll probably have to move to England. (Do they have possums there?) It doesn't seem to bother me that I know English people in 2011 no longer hang out all day in Jane Austen-ish clothes and worry about marrying beneath their class if only for the sake of love.
I've been to England, in fact, and I remember a lot of disappointing food and a healthy amount of rainfall. But I still will need to relocate because even fish and chips taste good if Colin Firth is sharing them with you.
Marc is presently rolling his Norwegian eyes. He's awfully lovely too, I must point out. And if he started speaking in a British accent, I'd be more worried than smitten. (Anyone remember when Madonna tried that for awhile? EXACTLY.) Of course, if I started retiring to the parlor and curtseying, he might be a bit concerned as well.
All right, so what's your guilty pleasure? If not people in enormous, drafty houses, wearing petticoats and fretting about balls, what, then? Amish romances? Happy Days reruns? Funyuns? Hit me, people. I'm ready. I shan't judge.
Kimberly, I love a good old English village murder mystery. Nobody kills with such twists, turns and intrigue as the British (on TV anyway!) I just can't get enough of Barnaby, Morse and Lewis :-))
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Love it! And you know I love an accent too. :) My guilty pleasure...um, Alexander McCall Smith. There, I've said it. Should we be alarmed or ecstatic that the first 2 responses about guilty pleasures cite books?
ReplyDeleteWe told you...Downton Abbey...right??? THE addiction of the year!
ReplyDeleteI think an Aussie accent is even more "swoon" worthy! And yes, it's because I read so many romances growing up :) My TV addiction: HGTV...can't get enough...with a healthy side of a good book (re: romance and or comedy).
ReplyDeleteIf it's the accent you want, and the bad food and rain you could do without, I would have to recommend Australia. The accent is very similar, the food is wonderful and the weather is way better! I would especially recommend researching your next book over in Australia during our next winter--it will be summer down under. ;)
ReplyDeleteYou are funny. I really love the show Gilmore girls. There I said it.
ReplyDeleteAnd Dolly Parton. :)
I love your vices!
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should try combining them into one Vice Fest. We could find an Australian cowboy who has the complete set of Gilmore Girls, make him sit down to listen to Dolly Parton's greatest hits, and redecorate the room around him like an English manor, a project we saw brought to fruition on HGTV.
Did I miss anyone?
I love England and English accents. Never been there, but every time I watch Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice (and yes we all should take a moment of silence when we think of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy), I want to see the beautiful green and even the mist. I have a lot of guilty pleasures, cheesy musicals, men who can really sing and dance, beautiful music, "What Not to Wear" ( I love Clinton) and here it comes...a man with an English Accent, James McAvoy ("Penelope", "Becoming Jane") . There I said it. He is short, but there is something about him. Oh, one more....Apolo Anton Ohno. I know!! Maybe its his bandana...I don't know.
ReplyDeleteNot an English accent, no - and there are a million of them so I'd have to choose. Now a Latin accent, preferably Spanish or Italian, yes. Bart refuses to learn either. Which is just as well considering his German.........
ReplyDeleteGuilty pleasure is my InStyle mags.
I think the hedgehogs in England fill the same niche that opossums do here in North America. Hedgehogs are much cuter of course.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you say about Colin. Firth. (huge sigh) The scene in P&P where he comes out of the lake and sees Elizabeth. (huge sigh)
And one of your readers mentioned James McAvoy - well I am in my mid-50s so this is an embarrassing guilty pleasure, but that young man makes me wish I were 20 again.
I have a lot of guilty pleasures - but to keep this short - Il Divo. Four beautiful young men with gorgeous voices singing popular romantic songs in English, French, Spanish and Italian. Lovely, lovely, lovely.
Yes, huge sigh for Colin FIrth as Mr. Darcy, though as I type his name I hear it with the English accent that makes it so much more perfect. I have only been to England once--an incredible memory being Evensong at the Canterbury Cathedral. The young choir sang JERUSALEM and my heart soared.
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