Scarlett Johansson is coming under fire for her British accent in the upcoming drama-comedy My Mother’s Wedding, with many fans branding it “awful” after the trailer dropped this week.
The 40-year-old Oscar-nominated actress stars as Katherine Frost, a British lesbian Royal Navy officer who has been in a long-term relationship with Jack, played by Freida Pinto.
She joins an ensemble cast including Sienna Miller, 43, and Kristin Scott Thomas, 65, who not only acts in the film but also makes her directorial debut.
The movie centres on three sisters returning to their childhood home for the third wedding of their twice-widowed mother, Diana (Scott Thomas).
Sienna Miller’s character, Victoria, is a glamorous Hollywood actress with a turbulent love life, while Johansson’s Katherine adds a disciplined, military-minded contrast to the family dynamic.
While the film’s plot promises warmth, humour, and emotional depth, much of the online conversation has focused on Johansson’s attempt at a British accent. Viewers on social media were quick to share their reactions, and many were far from impressed.
“I love Scarlett but my god that British accent is bad,” one person wrote on X.
Another user commented: “Is Scarlett’s British accent good? No. No, not really. Will I still watch My Mother’s Wedding? Yes. Yes, I will.”
Others were even more blunt, with one viral post reading: “Scarlett Johansson’s British accent for My Mother’s Wedding??? Awful.”
Despite the accent criticism, many fans expressed excitement for the movie, set to hit US cinemas on August 8. A UK release date is yet to be announced.
My Mother’s Wedding had its first screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023.
The script draws inspiration from Scott Thomas’s personal life; before she was 12, both her father and stepfather, who served as Royal Navy pilots, tragically died in crashes.
The film weaves together themes of family, grief, and reconciliation, all set against the backdrop of a wedding filled with emotional revelations and unexpected guests. It aims to explore how people face the ghosts of their past while navigating the complexities of the present.