Irrelevant But Awesome

Alexa:  I’m a sucker for a good love story and I’ve always loved Shakespeare’s plays, so Shakespeare in Love pushes all the right buttons for me. I thought I would be more dismissive of it given its reputation as one of the biggest Academy Award upsets in modern history – but I actually really enjoyed it. Though Romeo and Juliet is the centerpiece here, the movie cleverly intertwines allusions to several of Shakespeare’s other works without beating the audience over the head with them. The film is as much a celebration of great theater as it is a romance. Sure, it takes plenty of historical liberties, but I loved being transported back to those Elizabethan playhouses, as well as the appropriately Shakespearean balance of comedy, drama and romance. And on the latter front, the movie succeeds in achieving exactly what Gwyneth Paltrow’s Viola says theater is meant to do – it makes us feel something real. All that being said, I still find its Oscar victory perplexing. It’s a good ...