On this day in 1778, Beau Brummell was born, so it seemed like a good time for a deeper dive into This Charming Man: Beau Brummell (2008) starring hottie James Purefoy. It’s currently streaming on Acorn TV, plus I was intrigued that the title is an obvious reference to one of my very favorite songs by the Smiths, “This Charming Man.”
While I agree with Kendra’s mini-review that the plot is a little meandering, I found This Charming Man gave a solid biography of Brummell, a figure who has been little but a caricature over the years and parodied as the epitome of shallow male vanity. Which he may well have been, but at least this TV movie gives him his place in history, showing his quick rise to fame and equally fast fall, by focusing on his years in London around court.
What I enjoyed most — OK, aside from watching James Purefoy go from naked to sharp-dressed about 100 times — was how much was packed into this film. Even though the plot covers only a short time period in Brummell’s life, the film shows how he crafted his persona out of nothing but a few elements of dress and an overwhelming sense of self. He created an entirely new way for British upper-class men to dress and behave, building a cult of personality that was briefly more powerful than the crown royal. Beau Brummell’s celebrity has obvious echoes today in our reality-TV dominated world, where people like the Kardashians are literally famous for being famous.  Brummell didn’t design clothing or put outfits together in a special way, he made it popular and did it with attitude and did so with the right person, that is, the Prince Regent of England.
This Charming Man plays the relationship of Beau Brummell and the Prince like both a parent / child relationship and like a pair of lovers. Brummell begins by instructing and guiding the Prince, soothing his fears and calming his troubles, literally reading him bedtime stories. But when other people crowd the admiration society, and especially when Lord Byron sparks Brummell’s fascination, the relationship turns fraught. Jealousy erupts like a lover’s spat, and the Prince squabbles over trinkets. This plays with the long-standing tension in dandyism between manliness and effeminacy, which is reinforced by the very film title.  The Smiths’ song “This Charming Man” is an oblique story of a gay pickup, framed in the archaic language that songwriter Morrissey loves so much, and it fits like hand in glove (to quote another Smiths song) with this biopic to reinforce a touch of homoerotic mystery, for thems in the know.
Purists should note that there’s no modern pop inserted into this TV movie. In fact, you’ll find more Henry IV and The School for Scandal woven elegantly and ironically through the script than anything of our century.
Are you a Beau Brummell fan?
Holy cats–Beau Brummell and Prince have the same birthday? What can this mean?
Reincarnation?? We can dream!
I have a question about the shirt Beau Brummell puts on in the opening segment. It looks like it is completely open down the front, but every example I’ve seen of similar period shirts shows a neck opening and slit partway down the front (with or without ruffles). So, where does this open shirt come from or is it just a way to show him getting dressed without messing up his hair>
I believe it’s very late in the 19th c. / early 20th c. that the fully open-front shirt became standard for British men, so yep, that’s a just a thing for the movie! I haven’t read his full bio so unless he had his specially made & it didn’t catch on, I can’t be sure.
A couple of weeks ago, Turner Classic Movies had a 1954 biopic ‘Beau Brummell’ with Stewart Granger and Elizabeth Taylor. The costumes were OK to what in the world? It had an unhistoric happy ending (Prinny and Brummell reconciled). Another note – Fanny Brawne, John Keats ‘dearest girl’, was Brummell’s niece. I did not see the 1954 version to the end (I couldn’t take anymore) nor have I seen the 2006 version. I do want to know if either film featured the ringing line ‘Alvanley, who’s your fat friend?’
The ‘fat friend’ line is most definitely in This Charming Man :-)
Kendra tried to watch the 1954 Beau Brummell but, like you, couldn’t make it thru to the end — you’ll find her one-line review here:
https://frockflicks.com/oh-the-bad-movies-tv-youll-watch-3/
Not a movie, but I recommend Obsolete Oddity’s YouTube video on Beau Brummel. He has a great speaking voice, and he was respectful rather than lurid when discussing the less fortunate parts of Brummel’s life.
The biography by Ian Kelly on which I think this movie is based is als very recommendable!
I love the fops vs. dandies street “fight”. It always makes me laugh.
Saw it two times in the TV and loved it!
It’s kind of hard not to find something a bit homoerotic between the Prince and Brummell, even if there’s no evidence of any actual homosexual activity between them (and the Prince was so hated by the press, if there HAD been any suspicions about something like that the cartoonists would have made fun of it with at least as much venom as they hit him for his girlfriends.) “The Cut of the Clothes” by Erato is a book that has another take on their relationship.
The first video raised a number of questions. “Mr. Beau Brummell for the Prince.” Really? Would it not be “Mr. George Brummell?” “Beau” was a soubriquet, used only informally, surely. And would not one of the servants have taken his hat and top coat long before he entered the royal presence? And, for that matter, in the scene in which Brummell was dressing, where was his valet? How on earth could he have shrugged himself into his well-fitting coat?
The first Scene and all those cliches made me feel completely mad. Great actors in a really strange film, which could be so much better with good detail.
To make a film about regency high Fashion with no idea about it, is still a strange thing.