We don't get the opportunity to see many good films. Don't miss it.

Rating: 10/10 (15 February 1999)

This movie has a lot going for it. It seems to be developing into an extremely hyped up phenomenon like Titanic. "The best Shakespeare movie ever made!" Well I've heard that line regarding a few Shakespeare related films, for instance Romeo and Juliet, the Zeffirelli production with Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting. I remember seeing that at the Paris Theatre, by the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, a favorite cinema when I lived there. It was a great film. I stood on line for hours and had to take a seat in the second row. Whenever I think of that film, I get severe neck pains.
This is not the best Shakespeare movie to ever be made, nor the best ever made even, a couple of years from now. However it is a most enjoyable film. It is lighthearted, and lots of fun. I could not help but think of it as some sort of Disney treatment of the period, after seeing Elizabeth the night before. The theatre scenes are quite good, I thought. Even though they take place in the old days, the scenes project the world of entertainment, where people mostly have a good time. Everything in the film contributes to that good feeling, the lovely custumes, the little theatre, the street scenes, the healthy looking young specimens... Their Elizabeth, though much older than in "Elizabeth", is bedecked and bejeweled beyond description, but has a sense of humor. She turns up at the theatre in the last scene to collect on the wager regarding whether the feeling of love could be adequately captured on the stage. In some surveys Gweyneth Palrow is the favorite, but I think that the actress that plays the lead role in Elizabeth has more of an opportunity to display a wider range of acting talent, and does throughout that film. It was kind of fun to see Joseph Innes in both films' title roles. He is a good actor.