Worst English Accent…
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hamlet_8505 — 18 years ago(June 27, 2007 12:41 AM)
Actually, Nancy Travis ("the girl who played Sylvia") is from Staffordshire, England, UK. Her whole family is originally from Cardiffe, Wales, UK. I assure you, her English accent is spot on, as opposed to be being totally off as you so succinctly put it. There's no imitation because one cannot imitate what one is unless we're speaking of caricature. Her "American" accent in the Mike Myer's comedy, "So I Married An Axe Murderer" was less convincing than her native British twang. Oh, and by the by, Dick Van Dyke's "English" accent for Mary Poppins resembled more of an Australian accent than anything else.
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parisel — 18 years ago(October 13, 2007 04:50 PM)
hamlet,
Why do you say she is from England? She is from New York City. I think she did a great job with the accent, but she is American, not English.
So many English actors do a great American accent, and here is a case of the opposite. -
innerfairyau — 18 years ago(July 15, 2007 12:53 AM)
I've met a lot of British people - I was in the UK for a long time - and I think that Nancy Travis' accent is one of the most convincing I've ever seen in a movie. In fact, when I first saw her with an American accent, I thought, "That just doesn't sound right." I was stunned when I found out she wasn't British!
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beards4 — 18 years ago(August 06, 2007 09:46 AM)
I'm a Brit and I was fooled! Normally, I can pick out fakers in no time! I only found out she was American today!!!! I just thought I was always hearing about some American named Nancy Travis and then I found out it was her!
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karlhinze — 17 years ago(October 07, 2008 05:28 AM)
I don't believe I'm seeing this. I'm English and, believe me, this lady is NOT. It's a terrible accent. One of the worst I've ever heard in a film. I mean, nobody from England speaks with that accent.
Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! -
wchngliu — 17 years ago(October 20, 2008 01:31 PM)
not everyone from england speaks in a posh accent. and besides we have so many regional accents, you cannot define what is a british accent- we have the scouse accent from liverpool, mancunian in manchester, brummie in birmingham, geordie in newcastle- not just london accents.
i was born in middlesex, london, england in the uk and people like myself who were born in the uk- which is made up of england, scotland, wales and northern ireland all have different regional accents.
for me there is no such thing as a british accent. its like saying there is an american accent- but you go to brooklyn new york, the mid- west in minnesota or milwakee, texas in the US to name and they too have different regional accents. -
karlhinze — 17 years ago(October 23, 2008 02:57 PM)
for me there is no such thing as a british accent.
First of all, yes there is. I have a British accent. It's not the only British accent possible - that I know - but one can tell it's British.
The woman in this film speaks like no other English person. Just like a South African or an Australian person has their own accent, you can tell it's not an English accent. Just like the stupid woman in this film.
Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoile -
Vivaldia — 15 years ago(August 18, 2010 03:18 PM)
It's 'okay' as far as an English accent goes. I watched the film when I was young and assumed she was British. But then when I watched it later as an adult I spotted flaws and suspected she was American. (Or had a naturally American accent, at least).
It's not the worst English accent I've ever heard. (That's where Dick Van Dyke comes in) But there are scenes where you can spot it's not her natural accent. Lots of them.
The accent I think she's trying to emulate is the 'Queen's English' accent, which is what most of the world assumes is the sole British accent, forgetting all the English regional, Welsh regional, Scottish regional, and N. Irish accents. What they don't realise is that only about 1% of Britain now has that accent!
But the American I've seen best pull off this 'Queen's English' accent is Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones. Can't fault the girl. Well done.