WHY IS THE FAIR JULIET WEARING A CODPIECE?Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic A STRANGE BREW of ``Shakespeare in Love'' and ``A Star Is Born,'' Richard Eyre's ``Stage Beauty'' is the kind of well-meaning movie that wants to please everyone and, in the end, will likely satisfy only the most ardent fans of droll droll adj. droll·er, droll·est Amusingly odd or whimsically comical. n. Archaic A buffoon. [French drôle, buffoon, droll, from Old French drolle , period costume dramas. That's not to say there's a shortage of ideas here; if anything, Eyre (``Iris'') and writer Jeffrey Hatcher Jeffrey Hatcher is a playwright. He is the writer of the stage play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, commissioned and produced by City Theatre Company in Pittsburgh PA, which he later adapted into a screenplay, shortened to just Stage Beauty (2004). (adapting his own play) have too many - the movie explores, among other things, sexual identity and the nature of acting - and as a result, the film feels overly busy, hectic and, at times, confused as to its own identity. And that makes it hard to buy into the ever-evolving reality it offers. The part-fact, part-fiction ``Stage Beauty'' takes place in Restoration London, following a real-life stage actor named Edward Kynaston Edward Kynaston (c.1640 - January 1712) was an English actor. Kynaston was one of the last Restoration "boy players": young male actors who played women's roles. He was good looking and made a convincing woman: Samuel Pepys called him "the loveliest lady that ever I saw in (Billy Crudup William Crudup (born July 8, 1968) is a Tony Award winning American actor. Biography Early life Crudup (pronounced CROO-dup) was born in Manhasset, New York, the grandson of Billy Gaither, a well-known Florida trial lawyer. ), who was celebrated for his ability to bring Shakespeare's great female characters - Juliet, Desdemona, Ophelia - to life. In the words of diarist di·a·rist n. A person who keeps a diary. diarist Noun a person who writes a diary that is subsequently published Noun 1. Samuel Pepys, Kynaston in drag was always ``the prettiest woman in the whole house.'' Kynaston revels in his celebrity, indulging young women curious about his, um, equipment. But his world comes crashing down when King Charles King Charles can refer to:
adj. ham·mi·er, ham·mi·est Marked or characterized by overacting; affectedly humorous or dramatic. ham Rupert Everett) declares, at the urging of his mistress, that men may no longer play women's parts. Suddenly, Kynaston is out, and his lovelorn dresser, Maria (Claire Danes), is the toast of London, despite the fact that her celebrity rests upon the novelty of seeing a woman on stage and not her actual acting ability, which is rather suspect. This sets up much drama - sexually, professionally and otherwise - between Kynaston and Maria, as well as the aforementioned cinematic identity crisis. Aside from an unbelievable romantic subplot sub·plot n. 1. A plot subordinate to the main plot of a literary work or film. Also called counterplot, underplot. 2. A subdivision of a plot of land, especially a plot used for experimental purposes. between the two that seems shoehorned into the story, there are anachronistic a·nach·ro·nism n. 1. The representation of someone as existing or something as happening in other than chronological, proper, or historical order. 2. eruptions of Girl Power and a finale that seems to pinpoint the beginning of naturalistic acting. Crudup rides the waves of his character's various transformations with grace, keeping the film interesting and entertaining, even when it spins headlong into the conventional. Had ``Stage Beauty'' focused solely on Kynaston and gender, it would have lost some commercial appeal. But what it would have gained artistically might have made it an award-season contender. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com STAGE BEAUTY - Two and one half stars (R: sexual content, language) Starring: Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Rupert Everett. Director: Richard Eyre. Running time: 1 hr. 45 min. Playing: Laemmle's Playhouse 7 in Pasadena; Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood; Laemmle's Monica in Santa Monica. In a nutshell: Romantic farce tries to do too many things, diluting the interesting ideas at its core. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Billly Crudup is a Shakespearean stage actor, and Claire Danes is his lovelorn dresser, in ``Stage Beauty.'' |
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