Downtown Abbey

THE GIST: The King and Queen of England announce they'll be visiting Downtown Abbey. Initially, this is viewed as adding luster to the household, but when the Palace staff arrives and arrogantly takes over, many feathers are ruffled. An old argument between the Dowager Countess and the Queen's Lady-in-Waiting, who are related, also threatens to sour the occasion.

I never got to see this when it was a TV show, even though it always piqued my interest, so when a movie was announced I figured I'd watch it, even though obviously a ton of stuff had clearly happened through the many years it was on television.

Fortunately, the producers decided to run a short previously-on clip before the movie starts (it was also available online), in order to bring the newbies up to speed with the most important plot points.

I'm happy to report that, even being completely new to this world, Downtown Abbey was easy to follow and thoroughly enjoyable. The script is smart and sharp, the acting phenomenal, and the production values outstanding.

THE BOTTOM LINE: If you watched the show I'm pretty sure you just cannot miss this, but rest assured that you'll enjoy it even if you know nothing about it going in. I certainly did.

Grade: 7