The brilliant Kenneth Branagh does it again, turning Shakespeare's first romantic comedy into a spirited 1930s-style musical, every bit as much fun as a classic Fred and Ginger movie. The plot revolves around a capricious young king (Alessandro Nivola, Mansfield Park) and three of his happy-go-lucky lords (Branagh, Matthew Lillard and Adrian Lester) who swear off feminine distraction to pursue academic betterment--until an effervescent French princess (Alicia Silverstone) arrives at court with a trio of lovely ladies-in-waiting (Natascha McElhone, Carmen Ejogo and Emily Mortimer). Branagh's clever pre-World War II setting includes newsreel narration, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin tunes and technicolor imagery, and though the movie is irrefutably imperfect (the first couple numbers are pretty shaky, as are some of the actors), no one has made a musical like this for years and Branagh pulls it off beautifully. That it's a Shakespeare play to boot just feels like a bonus. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)
Love's Labour's Lost
Miramax, 94 min., PG, VHS: $103.99, DVD: $32.99 1/2/2001
Love's Labour's Lost
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