A Midsummer Night's Dream

You gotta hand it to The Mouse on this one. Not only are they going to spit in 20th Century Fox's eye (and confuse consumers) by releasing this 1996 British filmed stage version of Shakespeare's classic a month or so after the Pfeiffer/Kline boxoffice hit finishes its theatrical run, they're also going to price it at full-pop rental. Chutzpah? To the nines. Performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, director Adrien Noble's adaptation is a bit darker, and rather more earthy, than the 1999 Hollywood effort. The farcical tale of mismatched lovers who spend an enchanted evening in the forest and are aided by well-meaning if occasionally inept spirits, the British version tries (not always successfully) to combine stage and screen, cutting from an obviously decorated set to a special effects shot of characters riding à la E.T. across the face of the moon. The chief differences here are: a pointless and somewhat inappropriate framing device, in which a young boy is dreaming the entire play; a bit of homoerotic smooching between Oberon, King of the Fairies and the more-nasty-than-playful Puck; and some clothed though rather overt pelvic thrusting when Bottom and Titania share a night of romantic bliss. Not a bad adaptation, but not nearly half as much fun as the newest Hollywood version (which is the one I'd wait for). Optional. (R. Pitman)