MTV meets Shakespeare

Rating: 8/10 (1 July 2002)

Updating of "Romeo and Juliet" for the 1990s. I'm going to skip a synopsis of the plot--everyone knows it.
This is basically "Romeo and Juliet" in modern day dress full of arresting visuals, gunplay, loud 1990s music, wild dance numbers with all the cast members using Shakespeare's original dialogue! The effect is odd (to say the least). It ALMOST works. The visuals are all incredible (director Buz Luhrmann always knows how to make a film look fantastic) and the movie almost never stops for a breath. That's the problem--at first it's fun, but after 2 hours you're exhausted. Also the actors seem lost. When they're talking Shakespeare they seem to have no idea what they're saying. Most of them just recite the lines with a blank look on their faces. The older actors (Paul Sorvino especially) are much better at it. The casting and acting in this is all over the place.
Leonardo DiCaprio (as Romeo) is a good actor, but he's just all wrong for this role. He looks lost and way out of his depth. However, Claire Danes is wonderful as Juliet. Very sweet, likable and seems to have a clear understanding of the dialogue. Also her reactions in her dancing scene with Paris are hilarious. John Leguizamo is way over the top as Tybalt--too much. He quickly becomes annoying. Brian Dennehy and Paul Sorvino are very good as Montague and Capulet but are underused. Even Paul Rudd is very good (and incredibly handsome) as Paris. He seems to be having a whale of a time in his role.
Also, there is an incredible party sequence and Romeo's cousin comes in a wig, dress and lipstick and no one bats an eyelash. There's a great musical number on a huge staircase also.
Loud, eye-popping, funny and even quite moving. As it stands, I'm giving it an 8. With a better cast I might give it a 10.
Best line: "Check on me tomorrow and you'll find me a grave man."