Downton Abbey

Take a Billion Dollar franchise and turn it into a movie.   A classic Hollywood recipe of adding success to success.  Here instead of Aladdin or Luke Skywalker, we have Earl and Lady Grantham, royal residents of Downton Abbey in York, England in the early 20th century.

If you didn't see the 6 seasons of the TV show, the action revolves around the Upstairs /Downstairs worlds of the Wannabe royalty and the large staff of servants (workers in Service as they like to say), the butler, the lady's maid, the footmen, the cooks and so forth.

In the TV show, there was always things going wrong, bad decisions made and worse consequences.  Here in the movie, it's all smiles, golden hour lighting, full moons and an ending short of the castle that would make Walt Disney himself smile.

Great photography and great job getting the entire cast together.  The thin plot involves the King and Queen coming to Downton and the preparations and hilarity involved.    Kind of Brady Bunch-like in some points because the barb of the original show was many years ago.  But like Mike and Carol Brady, this mixed family of Earl and Lady Grantham has a happy ending. 

**** of 5