Not overrated

Rating: 10/10 (20 August 1999)

This film has one of the wittiest screenplays ever. Not only does it sustain the central conceit of the plot. It works on several other levels. The script is loaded with references to other Shakespeare works. Many of which require multiple viewings to catch. Take it from one who has read *ALL* of the plays that there is much to savor here. Anyone who complains about historical inaccuracies should automatically have their opinion discounted because they obviously didn't 'get it'. This film is intended as an affectionate tongue-in-cheek love letter to Elizabethan theater. OF COURSE there are anachronisms. It's part of the fun. Did anyone else notice the coffee mug on Will's desk that said 'Present of Stratford Upon Avon'? How about him going to what appears to be a session of psychoanalysis? The structure of the plot itself is ingeniously crafted to echo 'Romeo and Juliet' but in subtle, indirect ways. This film is alive in every sense of the world. Anyone who refers to it as a chick-flick or flighty entertainment is not at a very high level of artistic engagement. As a matter of fact they are just at the right level to be impressed by the banal platitudes of 'Saving Private Ryan'.