Review of Shakespeare in Love (1998) by Gregory G — 25 Jan 2013

A minor, thoroughly enjoyable farce that uses creation myth to detail the origins of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, the clever but absurd premise features William Shakespeare (a miscast Joseph Fiennes) as a young, struggling playwright, suffering from writer's block, who gets inspiration for his famous play from a muse (Gwyneth Paltrow) following a love affair.

Spectacular recreation of theater life in late sixteenth century England, culminating in a production of the play in front of an audience, is superlatively acted by a fantastic cast. This is not the thoughtful examination of the Bard's work that Al Pacino's documentary "Looking for Richard" is and the notion that Shakespeare needed inspiration from a muse to write is laughable at best.

Director John Madden is, skillfully, able to pull it off. Won Oscars for Best Picture, Actress (Paltrow), Supporting Actress (Dench), Original Screenplay, Art Direction, Costume Design, Original Musical or Comedy Score.

With Geoffrey Rush, Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth I, Simon Callow, Colin Firth, Imelda Staunton, Ben Affleck, Tom Wilkinson, Rupert Everett.