Shakespeare in Love- I love it!

You will never age for me, nor fade, nor die.

Two things made me think of Shakespeare in Love in the past week.  First of all, my teenage son's girlfriend was appearing as Juliet in a local production of Romeo and Juliet (and it was very good production, as was she in the titular role).  I said to my son at one point in the evening "Now aren't you glad that I made you watch Shakespeare in Love so many times?" and he actually said yes!  (If you would like to see the YouTube video promoting the Lost and Found Theatre production, the link is here.)  By the way, he had a hard time seeing his girlfriend kiss Romeo multiple times, but he met Romeo after the show and they shook hands (very cute).

Then I was blogging about the new film The King's Speech and I realized that I had seen Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush in a film together before....hmmmm......which film was it?  Of course, they both had supporting but key roles in this Best Picture of 1998 and Geoffrey Rush was nominated for an Oscar in his role as Philip Henslowe, owner of The Rose Theatre.  Colin Firth plays the baddie in this one, the unromantic Lord Wessex, to whom Gwyneth Paltrow's character Viola De Lesseps is betrothed and is forced to marry, even though she is in love with the married Will Shakespeare.  Poor Gwynnie, I'll take Lord Wessex off  your hands if you like!

Lord Wessex: My lady, the tide waits for no man, but I swear it would wait for you.

Geoffrey Rush as Philip Henslowe

Philip Henslowe: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.
Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?
Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman: How?
Philip Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery.

If you want to watch a period drama with any of the men in your life, this one is a good one to pull out of your collection or to rent.  The costumes are sumptuous, the music will swell your heart and the story will sweep you along and have you in tears by the end.  Gwyneth Paltrow won her Oscar for playing Viola (anyone else remember her pink Ralph Lauren Oscar dress that looked like it needed shorter spaghetti straps?) and Judi Dench stole all the scenes she was in (and a "Best Supporting" Oscar to boot).

In Justin Long's Guide to Rom-Coms, he says "Oh God, then there’s Shakespeare In Love. I feel immediately more romantic just thinking about it. After watching that it makes me want to swoop out and seduce someone with a sonnet."  So, if you want your special someone to seduce you with a sonnet, then this film is your pick.