Review of Love's Labour's Lost (2000) by Ripö M — 10 Aug 2009

I have a hard time rating this film. If I'm giving points for ingenuity and how much fun I had watching it, then it would be a 4 or a 5. However, if I'm basing it on the ability to trasnmit a story that the audience can comprehend...ah, there's the rub.

Kenneth Branagh is a master at bringing Shakespeare to film, no question. So with this outing he has placed one of the Bard's earliest comedies in the early 40s and makes it into a musical using popular tunes from the time period. He has also styled it to look like a classic movie musical. (And in this he 100% succeeds.) However, if one is going to make a musical one should probably find actors who can sing...and the problem is most of the acting is as bad as the singing...and the songs somewhat convolute the plot to the point where I was very confused as to what was going on. However, all lack of talents aside, you cannot help but fall in love with the cast: Alicia Silverstone, Matthew Lillard, Nathan Lane, Emily Mortimer, Timothy Spall, and Mr. Branagh himself.

If you are already familiar with this play, I think you will highly enjoy yourself. I think most anyone could enjoy this loving tribute to Shakespeare and Movie Musicals of the Golden Age...but for those of us not familiar...don't expect to come away knowing any more of what this play is about than you did when you started it.