It’s the only thing I disliked about the film.
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LOL! Right on that. Personally, though, I think Brit actors generally do American accents better than American actors do Brit accents. I think that may have to do with the predominance of US film and TV in the UK as compared to UK film and TV in the US. You “grow” up listening to the accents. That might explain non-Brit sounding popular music Brit singers in the 60s. That may also explain why when I sing my favorite Robyn Hitchcock songs to myself, it comes out sounding Brit!
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I did say I was quibbling. But yes. Could have done with her advice for the final scene of the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, when Pierce Brosnan, playing an Americanised Glaswegian, drops into a horrible cod-Highland “will ye no tak’ a wee dram, lassie” skit when supposedly reverting to his native accent. (Why? Why not make him an Americanised Irishman, and let him do his actual real accent?)
I assumed it was an atavistic recollection of the Revolution, when all the Redcoat officers would obviously have spoken like this :-)
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That probably had something to do with it. I can see it getting started with that, then it’s such an easy way to have the “enemy” talking differently but intelligibly, that it becomes a Hollywood trope, and RADA is producing all these actors who can fit straight into the stereotype and it just snowballs from there.
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Then you have the under the surface accent tropes. In old Hollywood epics depicting the Roman Empire, Romans were played by Brits, their slaves/subjects/barbarians would be played by Americans.
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Far and few between. Plus, when Americans do British it is almost always a muddle. When British/Aussis do American, they do it so well, you can narrow down their dialect to a 50 mile radius. C’mon, the British even nail British-doing-American-doing-British: Carl Elwes in The Princess Bride. Billions for defense, but Americans will never master the British accent.
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Cary Elwes definitely does a great American accent (see Hot Shots). His career trajectory was a bit wonky. Almost always a great supporting actor, rarely the lead.
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I loved it. It made it certain that he wasn’t James Bond hanging out there.
And yes as someone said, it’s Cajun Foghorn Leghorn, which is perfect for the movie. Why not.
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Wait, is Cary Elwes not Florinian?!!
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I am reminded of what my mother (from Glasgow) used to say about middle class people from Edinburgh…
‘Och Edinburgh! That’s where they’re always “pitting the kettle on for to bile!”’
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To my (English) ear, the Western Isles accent always has a bit of a Scandinavian twang to it. Which is understandable given the history.
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Of all Americans, John Oliver has the best British accent 
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Anthony Hopkins?
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Maleficent looks and sounds similar to Cruella de Vil (in the original animated version) even to the cheekbones. Also played by an American, Betty Lou Gerson.
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Came here to say exactly this. I was sceptical about an American critiquing British accents but she is excellent.
Definitely needs more variety though. Only one (half) Scottish accent? I admit I’m struggling to think of any Welsh characters played by an American but there must be some Northern Irish accents. And there are so many different English accents this feels like a missed opportunity.
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Oh, there are:
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He always looked Guilderian to me.
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That sounds pretty good to my untrained ear. But I also enjoyed his Irish gypsy in Snatch.
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I think there were some in How Green Was My Valley, but that was 80 years ago.
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