I'm American and I was just wondering what you folks in the UK think of Connie's British accent in the show. Do you find it convincing?
shareFor the most part but you can easily see a few slips that she does at certain points, but somehow it adds something.
There's one bit when Fawlty mimics her and does a sort of Yanky accent, a in joke perhaps???... :0)
she sings in an american accent in "gourmet night". i think it's hilarious.
shareFirst, I'm American so I probably shouldn't be responding, sorry...
I was watching Fawlty Towers the other day and got a feel for her accent again. When I think about it, I think I've always felt she wasn't trying to portray Polly as an Englishwoman; maybe an American college student studying abroad, or someone who started out like that and just stayed on. I've heard that the British don't like Americans putting on a phony British accent like Madonna did/does. I always felt that if I moved to Britain (which I thought I might like to do earlier in life) I would try hard to develop the British accent just because I like how it sounds, but I guess that's considered too phony or "putting on airs."
Anyway, I just find the topic fascinating. I was convinced by Lindsay Lohan's British accent in the remade "The Parent Trap" that she must have spent time growing up in England, but later heard an AWFUL attempt at a British Accent by her in a Harry Potter takeoff on Saturday Night Live, so I guess she just had a good coach on "The Parent Trap."
A reverse situation occurs with the guy who plays "House." [EDIT: Hugh Laurie... Sorry] He's fully British and can be heard as one in "Jeeves and Wooster," but sounds completely convincingly American to me on "House," though I confess I've seen very little of that show - perhaps he slips occasionally.
I just have great respect for anyone who works so hard at speech that they could fool a native of the country whose speech they're imitating.
I've heard several different opinions from British friends of mine regarding her accent, so I'm always interested in seeing what the majority of people think.
One of my friends said he always thought she was American as well. Another said that she didn't even know Connie was American until she looked it up one day. I personally think her accent is floating between a British and American accent. But I do remember reading somewhere that Connie preferred to take roles in British films/television that required an American accent rather than having to put on a British accent like she did in Fawlty Towers (this was when she was still acting, obviously). I can't remember where I read that, which is frustrating because I always felt they were purposely ambiguous about her accent and that article was proof she was supposed to be British!
Oh well, I think it's safe to say that out of all the accents in the show, the best accent is Manuel's.
Agreed. Really shocking to hear his normal voice on the interview extra on the disc. Es muy bueno.
shareI think it's much easier for a British person to sound American than the other way round. I'm not so sure about specific American accents like NY,Louisiana or Texas etc but to sound "homogenous American" isn't too hard.
In the show Connie Booth sounds like an American who has lived in the UK for a while,which she actually was after marrying John Cleese,but still noticeably American.
Brits don't mind someone's accent evolving over time,that's natural.
I think she's Canadian. I always thought she Australian for some reason - a bit like Dick van Dyke trying to to an English accent.
Effort is not concerned with results.
She's American (at least originally), but same difference.
Some people can do accents, some better than others, and some just can't. I can do certain ethnic American accents convincingly, but even though I think of myself as a Brit born into an American body, I don't think I could ever learn how to sound convincingly British, at least not without long term total immersion.
Actually she doesn't do badly for Devon, the area in which the program is set, and also the Accent that the original American settlers would have had.
shareConnie was born in Indianapolis.
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I didn't even know she was American until I saw a documentary on Fawlty Towers and Connie Booth was talking in her original accent - it was so strong I could barely understand her!
However, I was only about 10 when I first saw these and I probably wouldn't have noticed her accent being put on and now I'm just used to that being Polly's voice, so I'm not the best judge!
She is very convincing
shareYes as I said previously it sounds very good for Devon.
shareI wouldn't have even known she was American.
share....She's not doing an English accent, and she's certainly not doing a Devon accent. Polly is meant to be an American who moved here, I'm sure. She sings a song from Oklahoma, she references Annie Hall....both much bigger in the States than here. And when Cleese mimics her in Basil the Rat he does an American accent.
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I agree with Chris, above. I knew she was American and never thought for a moment she was trying to "do" British (or English, more accurately).
She sounds like what she is (as John Cleese's ex wife) - an American who has lived in the UK and smoothed off their accent a little. Not neccessarily going for the full Brit like Madonna, but just taking some of the edges off it to make it more understandable.
I'm Irish and my wife is a New Yorker, and we both live in the UK! I always pull her up if I hear an English inflection - her most common one is saying "NoTTingham", which I force her to repeat as "Naddinghaaaaaam!"
More seriously, we have both toned down our accents over the years - people just couldn't understand me when I first came over and I was constantly being told to slow down. I wouldn't change my accent for the world, I maybe just made it more understandable.
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher.
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Connie Booth IS American! It is referrred to, indirectly, here and there in the show.
All John Cleese's wives have been American by the way.
I was always under the impression that there was no attempt to hide that "Polly" was supposed to be American...
"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"