BEFORE: Continuing with the "star-crossed" lovers portion of the countdown - a total classic, as updated by Baz Luhrmann. Spoiler alert - it doesn't end well... But I can't really finish off the romance category without a nod to old Billy Shakes...
THE PLOT: Classic story of Romeo and Juliet, set in a modern-day city of Verona Beach. The Montagues and Capulets are two feuding families, whose children meet and fall in love.
AFTER: This plays like a mix between classic Shakespeare, and "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas"...the setting is moved from Verona, Italy to Verona Beach, CA, swords become guns, and (presumably) horses become muscle cars...
But the dialogue stays more or less intact, which is disconcerting at first, hearing Olde English phrases coming from modern actors. But I did get used to it, even if I sometimes only understood the gist of a line rather than the exact meaning. And in some cases I think the modern elements put new twists on the old dialogue, since I'm pretty sure Shakespeare didn't know about Ecstasy pills, shooting pool and trailer parks. But he did know about cross-dressing, and Romeo's pal Mercutio seems really into it as they attend a costume party at the Capulet mansion...
I kind of wish Baz Lurhmann had stuck with this idea and updated some more Shakespeare classics - but I guess he just had to do "Moulin Rouge", and leave it for others to make "O" and "10 Things I Hate About You".
And you can't find any problems with the script, since it's only been workshopped for the last 500 years or so - this is one of the few times I can talk about the ending without giving anything away. If you haven't encountered this plot before, then where have you been?
The last act plays like a commercial for FedEx - if only the priest had used a reliable delivery service, instead of "Post Haste Dispatch" - Romeo would have received the news about Juliet's fake death, and tragedy would have been averted.
And I liked when Romeo snuck back into Verona Beach after he heard about Juliet's funeral - there were police cars and helicopters after him, so he must have had at least a 3-star wanted level...
No way am I ending Romance Month on such a depressing note...
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Paul Sorvino, Brian Dennehy, Pete Postlethwaite, Harold Perrineau (of "Oz" and "Lost" fame...), Paul Rudd (last seen in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"), cameos from Jamie Kennedy, Zak Orth, Jesse Bradford, Vondie Curtis-Hall and M. Emmet Walsh.
RATING: 5 out of 10 neon crosses
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