Cute

Rating: 8/10 (1 August 2009)

I haven't personally read every one of his plays, but I know enough about them to "get" this. It's a clever mix of ideas and references from numerous of the famous ones, and actually an original idea that combines(and does so well) what it borrows from Shakespeare himself. While I haven't seen anything else directed by Madden, I can imagine doing so, because he certainly handles this well. I wasn't personally into the comedy of this, too silly for my tastes, though I'm sure that there is an audience for it. The plot is well-done, and develops nicely throughout. This has fine pacing. The acting is all rather great, every performance is spot-on. This maintains a lot of the (wordy) type of dialog of the time that it presents, if also updated somewhat to fit contemporary tastes. The cast is all well-chosen. There is sexuality(so much so that it gained an R rating) and near nudity in this, and that is about it for objectionable material. This is interesting and has some surprises, and is worth the time for any fan of the famed playwright's work. I recommend it to anyone who considers themselves that, and advise any more casual viewer to bring along a friend who is more of an expert on the subject than they are, so that they can get as much out of watching this as possible. 8/10