Search

Love's Labour's Lost

2000, Movie, PG, 93 mins

Love's Labour's Lost: Review

LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST
starstarstarstar
As if to prove that light romantic comedy can be just as difficult to stage as Shakespeare, Kenneth Branagh fails at both, simultaneously. The king of Navarre (Alessandro Nivola) has decreed that he and his three lords (Matthew Lillard, Adrian Lester and Branagh) shall foreswear women and devote the next three years to their studies, completely forgetting the impending visit of the comely Princess of France (Alicia Silverstone) and her three lovely ladies (Natascha McElhone, Carmen Ejogo and Emily Mortimer). When they arrive, the king insists they set up camp outside the kingdom walls, even though it's clearly love at first sight all around. Surreptitious courting follows, along with misdirected missives, masked-ball switcheroos and way too much vaudeville shtick from Nathan Lane, playing the king's clown. Love's Labour's Lost hasn't dated well; quibbles, proverbs and wordplay that once had 'em rolling in the aisles of the Globe left them scratching their heads a century later. So Branagh hit upon the bright idea of presenting this inaccessible comedy as an Astaire and Rogers-style musical romance; he tosses half the play and inserts dance numbers and overly familiar tunes from the Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Gershwin songbooks. But before you scream Kiss Me, Kate, it should be mentioned that Branagh hasn't updated any of the dialogue, so it happens that a couplet is followed by the slangy lyrics of "I'd Rather Charleston." It's a jarring combination that leads to the spectacle of Branagh crooning while a panicked Silverstone rushes her way through 17th century dialogue as though she has somewhere else to be. The lack of written stage direction has always granted great artistic license to directors bold enough to brave LLL, but in Branagh's case, that license should be revoked. Pronto. leave a comment --Ken Fox
Advertisement

Shop

Love's Labour's Lost
Buy Love's Labour's Lost from Amazon.com
From Miramax (DVD)
Average Customer Review: nostarnostarnostarhalfstarstar
Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy New: $10.99
Love's Labour's Lost: Critical Essays (Shakespeare Criticism)
Buy Love's Labour's Lost: Critical Essays (Shakespeare Criticism) from Amazon.com
From Routledge (Paperback)
Buy New: $36.04

more Love's Labour's Lost products

Advertisement

Related Websites

You might be also interested in the following websites:

Most Popular TV Shows

  1. Dancing with the Stars
  2. The Game
  3. NCIS
  4. American Idol
  5. Wife Swap
more popular tv shows

Most Popular Celebrities

  1. Sammy Sosa
  2. Cindy Crawford
  3. Carrie Prejean
  4. Rebecca Gayheart
  5. Ron Livingston
more popular celebrities

Most Popular Movies

  1. A Christmas Carol
  2. This Is It
  3. Men Who Stare At Goats
  4. The Fourth Kind
  5. Paranormal Activity
more popular movies

Top Videos

  1. Grey's Anatomy
  2. V
  3. Nip/Tuck
  4. NCIS
  5. House
more top videos