Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Does anyone remember this? I do, but only because its what turned me off of the Oscars. Haven't watched them since. It was the rude awakening that they were fixed, the quality of the film didn't matter as much as the bribes. It beat Saving Private Ryan for best picture. And then it beat Bulworth for best screen play. That was sort of enough to turn my head. Both of them? Bulworth was far from best picture worthy, but best original screenplay seemed as much as a shoe in as Ryan for Best Picture. And then it went on to win Best score over Mulan, A Bug's Life, and Prince of Egypt which is curious because it didn't really fit the criteria for Musical or Comedy Score as much as it's competition. And then now, looking back, who remembers it? If it's remembered at all, it's remembered for beating Saving Private Ryan, which has become a classic. Shakespeare in Love is just remembered for it's sweep of the awards, both at the Oscars and beyond, but not for its quality.

Set during the later reign of Engand's Queen Elizabeth, this joyful drama sees poor old William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) having a bit of a creative drought. Lacking ideas and cash, and being pursued by both Richard Burbage (Martin Clunes) and the wonderfully dead pan Geoffrey Rush as Philip Henslowe for work he's supposed to have already penned, things are looking a bit bleak. When Gwyneth Paltrow, an ardent theatre fan prohibited from taking to the stage by virtue of her sex, dresses as "Thomas Kent" and auditions for a part, he sees through the disguise quickly and his creative juices once again begin to flow... Snag is, she "Viola de Lesseps" is engaged to the poverty stricken "Lord Wessex" (Colin Firth) and Virginia bound - as soon as he can raise the dowry from her father... What ensues is a rapid-fire, lightly comical, romantic drama that sees quite a collection of acting talents contributing well to the ensemble effect of this story. Fiennes shines as the playwright in trouble - frequently - as do Paltrow, Rush, a surprisingly effective Ben Affleck, Imelda Staunton as her worldly-wise nurse with Jim Carter as the onstage version of that persona and Barnaby Kay as the mischievous little "Nol". The costumes and sets are magnificent; the writing from Marc Norman and the newly knighted Sir Tom Stoppard is witty and stimulating - cleverly incorporating quite a bit of the original bard's efforts into their screenplay as they go. It would have been easily possible for this embarrassment of acting riches to have overwhelmed this story, but John Madden keeps all pulling well in the same direction. The film will doubtless be remembered more as Dame Judi Dench's consolation Oscar (for not winning for "Mrs. Brown" the year earlier), and as far as they go her performances are fine - but there is much more to this story of the trials and tribulations of a bard in love. A wee bit long, it seems to end more than once, but it is still a story the eponymous writer himself might well have enjoyed.