Delightful

rbangert

I found Kenneth Branagh's Love's Labors Lost to be delightful. There are those who approach the Bard with religious awe and will be scandalized by how much of the original script has been truncated here and replaced by singing. And there will be those hate or adore Branagh and cannot view this movie without comparing it to others of his movies. And there will be those who love musicals and are bewildered at performances by the usually unsung and flatfooted. But taken on its own merits, it's a fun, farcical, giddy, touching, beautiful, musical romp. In its spirit, it reminded me of "A Funny Thing Happened to Me on the Way to the Forum" but with a simpler plot and more beautiful imagery and language.

As others have commented here, Love's Labors Lost is not Shakespeare's best, but there are some gems of language and an amusing, though fairly simple, plot. Branagh did just the right editing of some of the more tedious or dated wordplay and set the action in a romantic Navarre surrounded by the very real dangers of a European conflagration. I couldn't help but imagine Shakespeare delighting in the light elegance and witty turns of phrase in the Cole Porter and Gershwin music... exactly the spirit of the original and a good match for the plot but adapted to modern sensibilities. I enjoyed the singing and dancing by actors who don't routinely do this sort of work; it added to the naturalness and effervescence of the performances. On the whole, it's not dazzling musical fare, but its perfectly enjoyable, almost a musical parody of musicals. And the clowning was just ridiculous in the best sense of the word, and often slapstick.

In short, it's not a conservative adaptation of Shakespeare, it's not a Broadway extravaganza, it doesn't have deep or complex character development or conflict. It's an unusual and well done movie. And it's just fun. Enjoy!

score 8/10

rbangert 26 January 2007

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1583009/