shakespeare in love is quite possibly the most enjoyable period piece ever made for the silver screen .
it is both humorous and romantic in a very unique blend that can successfully entertain any audience for the nearly 2 and and a half hours that it occupies .
that is , however , not to say it is a good film , a quality production or anything of the sort .
shakespeare in love is an incredibly cheap illusion that truly pans out to be very little quality or original work .
the finest sign of this may be the plot , in looking back , there seems to be little more than a thin , predictable plot that is only carried by the portrayal of people that we revere in our history books .
philip henslowe ( geoffrey rush ) owns 1 of the 2 theatres in london .
it is at the peak of the royal theatre era , and queen elizabeth ( the recently damed judi dench , by , appropriately enough , queen elizabeth ii ) is very much a fan .
however , to directly quote the film , he has " cash flow problems .
" through a long set of events , it becomes apparent that his entire life is dependent on his next show doing well enough to pay off his debts .
so , mr .
henslowe employs the young playwright , william shakespeare ( joseph fiennes ) to pen a comedic production .
however , the young writer has a severe case of writer 's block , and blames it on the fact that his love life is struggling as well .
he has the title in mind , romeo and ethel , the pirate 's daughter
( even that joke loses steam after a while ) but ca n't seem to put words to paper .
then , as only hollywood could have it , through a long set of twisted events , he meets viola de lesseps ( gwyneth paltrow ) and falls madly in love , thus curing his writer 's block .
there are many other little issues that mr . henslowe encounters , but they all pan out to be much ado about nothing .
the first realization that i reached in watching this film is that one of the messages given is that a show should not always be credited to it 's author .
ironically , that could n't be truer here .
the great scenes that will sweep audiences away are not the scenes that fit in the plot , but rather the recitals of shakespearean lines by actors playing actors .
one of the most breathtaking moments in this film does not involve the character of shakespeare or queen elizabeth or even the theatre owner , but rather 2 young children named romeo and juliet who chose to end their own lives in the name of love .
so it is that i am offended by the fact that marc norman and tom stoppard are credited with writing this production , and the name william shakespeare is no were to be seen beyond a character 's name in the credits .
the acting in this entertaining yet poor film is often thin to the point that it would not have survived even in queen elizabeth 's theatres .
joseph fiennes may just be the worst of fall though .
he is tragically unbelievable and comically bad .
gwyneth paltrow is little more than satisfactory in her lead position as well .
however , the supporting cast does almost save the day .
geoffrey rush is nothing short of incredible and judi dench is breathtaking .
they both seem to have shown that as proven actors they could survive in this film of weak links .
you will also find a very good performance by ben affleck in his first real role since good will hunting
( no , armageddon does n't qualify as real acting . ) .
and rupert everett was cute in his small part as well .
but not even they could save this sad excuse for a film ,
so it remains plagued by poor performances .
when all is said and done , shakespeare in love is only worth the trip if you want to be entertained .
however , as the film so kindly pointed out , entertainment may be fun , but it is n't necessarily quality . and this certainly is n't quality .
perhaps this may be best compared to a john grisham novel , as a dear friend of mine often does compare things to his work .
simply put , it is far - fetched , poorly crafted , but very entertaining .
this sad excuse for a film , so it remains plagued by poor performances this certainly is n't quality the acting in this entertaining yet poor film is often thin to the point that it would not have survived so it is that i am offended by the fact may just be the worst of fall though in this film of weak links simply put , it is far - fetched , poorly crafted tragically unbelievable and comically bad little more than a thin , predictable plot an incredibly cheap illusion that truly pans out to be very little quality or original work