Shakespeare in Love..

I was 11 years old when i first saw this movie. The dialouges just went over my head, I didn't fancy Joseph Fiennes (the man who played Shakespeare) and as for Gwyneth Paltrow, i just kept thinking : W-O-W! thats one huge head for a wiry little frame.

The womenfolk in the family made a huge fuss over the movie, they spoke about it for days on end but I just didn't get it! A horny man and an equally lust driven woman, who throw themselves on each other every 3rd scene. Ugh and double ugh!

Fast forwarding to 2 hours ago, i was flicking through the movie channels and caught sight of Colin Firth (LOVE the man, thanks to Bridget Jones). But here he was dressed up in a funny puffy outfit, donning a pearl dangly earring on one ear.

I guffawed and turned to Ma; "Your favorite flick". No sooner had the words left my mouth, i caught a dialouge being said, between Colin Firth and another funnily dressed man.

Lord Wessex (Colin Firth): [about Viola] Is she obedient?
Sir Robert de Lesseps (Viola's Father): As any mule in Christendom - but if you are the man to ride her, there are rubies in the saddlebag.
Lord Wessex: I like her!

Now any movie that describes sex like THAT, is definitely worth watching. I sat up a little straighter on my couch now and fluffed up the cushion.

Shakespeare in Love is the story behind Romeo and Juliet. I could absolutely relate to this mad mad writer. He wrote a sonnet each time he kissed his lady love, Viola and he'd spurn out mindblowing dialouges for the play whilst making love to her.

Each time the camera zoomed in on him writing away furiously, dipping his pen in his bottle of ink, his finger nails covered in ink et al, i pictured myself in his shoes.

The rehearsals of the play, Romeo and Juliet come to an abrupt halt, the minute Colin Firth gets wind that his bride to be is sleeping around, with the poverty stricken writer AND rehearsing along with the rest of the cast in the play.

Luckily for Will and co, their rival drama company generously offers them, their stage to rehearse on. So, the show is back on the road.

On the day Romeo and Juliet is staged for the audiences, Viola gets married to Lord Wessex (Colin Firth and Gwyneth Paltrow). As they walk down the church steps, a flyer of the play Romeo and Juliet falls on Paltrow. (Yes, i know very cliched, but nice anyway!)

So she runs to the theatre, does the role of Juliet, and when the play ends, the Queen comes out of the fray (she was amidst the audience, hiding in peasants' clothes) and tells Paltrow to pass on the message to Shakespeare, that she wants a funnier play on the 12th.

And now that my friends, was Shakespeare's next play, titled 'The 12th Night'. It's the story of a woman named Viola, who gets shipwrecked, but manages to fight the currents of the sea and walk on to unknown shores. In Shakespeare's real life, HIS Viola was also leaving him, she was sailing away to a foreign land, with her newly wed spouse.

So basically, Shakespeare implemented bits and pieces of his life into all his plays.

Brilliant brilliant movie! Watch it if you're a whimsical writer who also happens to be a hopeless romantic. *sigh*