Shakespeare in Love (1998)

People are voting emotionally.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I would never have expected to be as entertained as I was by "Shakespeare in Love", but the humorous way in which it was presented made watching it a genuine pleasure. The situations and characters, such as they are spoofing the works of the great bard, is done with such creativity that one doesn't mind that his famous plays are given a royal send-up. Aside from Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and his lady love Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), supporting players Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson and Ben Affleck are all hilarious in their characterizations, with a noteworthy mention of Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth. What the picture had me wonder about was how the historical William Shakespeare might have actually spent his daily routine writing plays, sonnets and poems, and if he had to deal with underfunded theaters and lack of paying customers. The man is so famous today you don't really think of him as a mere mortal carrying on day to day with the kind of superficial problems that came up in this story. Erectile dysfunction - who knows?Anyway, this is a good break from more serious movie fare, but in the grand scheme of things, to win out as Best Picture over "Saving Private Ryan", and even "Life is Beautiful" is something of a stretch to my mind. Best Costume Design I can agree with, and if there was a category for best Romantic Comedy, then it would have been a winner hands down. Still, not a bad little picture, and who knows, it might even have you looking up a little Shakespeare for your own personal reading pleasure.

Young Will Shakespeare, suffering a bout of writer's block, happens across an intense love and draws inspiration for new material from the whirlwind romance. For a best picture winner, this is awfully mediocre stuff. The plot is simplistic and over-familiar, the acting merely acceptable, and the constant nods and winks to the budding auteur's work quickly grows excessive and wearying. Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes are attractive people and make convincing googly eyes at one another, but their relationship is so swift and passion-fueled that it never feels like more than a fiery seasonal fling. Judi Dench took home a best supporting actress statue for her work as Queen Elizabeth I, though she barely makes a cameo appearance and most of her work seems done by the wardrobe department. Irritatingly blunt at times, particularly when it tries its hand at comedy, I appreciate the freshness of the concept if not its flimsy, dated execution.

While this deals with the creation of "Romeo and Juliet", in some eyes his very best play, this is really a story of deception, a la Yentl, a la "As You Like It". This is about the desires of a young lady (Gwyneth Paltrow) who desired to act and disguised herself as a boy to play the part of Romeo, ironically opposite a young male actor as Juliet. In the process, she falls in love with Shakespeare (the dashing Joseph Fiennes) and while he returns her feelings, he uses elements of their relationship to finish the play. A jealous suitor becomes Mercutio; her nurse (Imelda Staunton) becomes Juliet's nurse, and various personal tragedies guide the conclusion, leading to a triumph....or does it?Perfect in every detail, this Oscar winning best picture features a great cast in smaller parts, most notably the Oscar winning Judi Dench as the imperious Queen Elizabeth II, basically a cameo, but a commanding one. There's some ironic cameos as well, including "Downton Abbey's" Carson (Jim Carter) as the actor playing the nurse, and deep down the cast list, "Are You Being Served?"'s Mr. Humphreys (John Inman). Geoffrey rush, Simon Callow and Ben Affleck are just a sample of the incredible cast. There's humor, tension, sexism galore (a historical fact of the times) and lush music, photography and art direction. I'm glad this just presents the facts (fictional or not) and leaves the point of view to the audience decide.

After reading a piece of historical fiction regarding the life of William Shakespeare, I figured I would give this Academy Award-winning film a try while inspired. Unfortunately, what I found was very nearly a complete and utter mess of comedy trying to be mixed with serious themes.For a basic plot summary, "Shakespeare in Love" weaves the tale of the creation of William Shakespeare's (Joseph Fiennes) "Romeo & Juliet" with his strikingly similar romance to Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow).There are so many things wrong with this production that I wonder where to even begin. Here are the things that really turned me off the most:-I'm not Shakespeare historian, to be sure, but the plot of this movie seems like complete fiction to me (a real-life romance inspiring "Romeo & Juliet"). If someone can tell me if this has any basis in fact, please let me know, as I would be very interested. As it were, I could not separate the great play from this cheap effort to produce concurrent narratives. -You can't play Shakespeare off as a goof! Mr. Fiennes may be a better actor in other roles, but he completely lacks the gravitas to play The Bard. -More to the above point, director John Madden is unable to find a medium between comedy and drama. This movie had to be either one or the other, and instead it ends up being neither. In my mind, Shakespeare either has to be taken reverently or be given the "life and times" approach, looking at him from a real-life perspective. This film does neither. He's a bumbling fool from beginning to end and somehow magically happens to put together this wonderful play. -Don't even get me started on the casting. Ben Affleck is a joke, among others, while I would say that only Paltrow turns in a decent performance from the entire lot.I guess what it came down to for me, then, was the fact that I couldn't "buy in" to the notion of "Romeo & Juliet" being inspired by a real-life romance. That seemed like too much of a reach for me. It is mind-boggling to me, in hindsight, that this film snagged the Oscar over "Saving Private Ryan". Talking about your Shakespearean tragedy (!).