Stealing the show

Rating: 6/10 (17 April 2003)

"Shakespeare in Love" is, in many ways, the quintessential Oscar Best Picture. This is not necessarily a good thing. It is a highly enjoyable comedy that will have you smiling throughout. Judi Dench and Geoffrey Rush are, in particular, wonderful, but we see far too little of them. Gwyneth Paltrow and the rest of the cast are fine, but it is not the best picture of the year, and it is a classic example of how people easily confuse good costumes with good filmmaking.
Again, "Shakespeare in Love" is not a bad film, but neither is it outstanding. It is worth seeing, especially if period pieces interest you, but almost everyone involved has done better work (notably Dench and director John Madden, previously paired in "Mrs. Brown").