Musical Monday Week 29 Love’s Labour’s Lost

[Cameron H. 23786]

Posted without comment, lines cut from the film:

 

MARIA:

A mark marvellous well shot; for they both did hit it.

BOYET:

A mark! O, mark but that mark! A mark, says my lady!

Let the mark have a prick in’t, to mete at, if it may be.

MARIA:

Wide o’ the bow-hand! I’ faith, your hand is out.

COSTARD:

Indeed, ‘a must shoot nearer, or he’ll ne’er hit the

clout.

BOYET:

An if my hand be out, then belike your hand is in.

COSTARD:

Then will she get the upshoot by cleaving the pin.

MARIA:

Come, come, you talk greasily; your lips grow foul.

COSTARD:

She’s too hard for you at pricks, sir; challenge her

to bowl.

BOYET:

I fear too much rubbing; good-night, my good owl.

[tomspanks 9039]

^ these all sound naughty

[Cameron H. 23786]

^ these all sound naughty

 

Very naughty, indeed.

 

[tomspanks 9039]

I have to find a way to sneak in "cleaving the pin" into my IRL conversations.

 

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

I just watched this last night and enjoyed it. I'm glad I read the comments before watching as I would have not paid attention to the ending. As it is I missed that it was Jacquenetta getting sent to the camp. I understood the camp but also saw Amado and Moth in line so I thought they were being sent as well. Yet there they were along with everyone else at the grand finale. Will watch it again when I want a frothy love story.

 

I thought Nathan Lane was wasted. He was funny in the letter delivery scene and one piece of banter but other than that he disappeared for me. I thought there was one scene in the trailer that wasn't in the movie but will need to watch the trailer again.

 

I didn't understand why the entire country was subject to the edicts. They made such a big point out of the four friends signing on that I thought the rules only applied to the four. Why did the countryside have to subscribe as well without their consent?

[PollyDarton 1807]

I’m late to the game, but I think LLL is on Tubi for free.

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

Of the nobles that surprised me was Adrian Lester. I also appreciated that Branaugh went with mixed race couples. the number that worked the least for me was the masquerade ball scene, it just seemed too sexualized for this particular time period.

I was thinking similarly except that I was surprised each lady let her man get that familiar and sexual with someone else.

 

I'll have to watch again and see if the king wound up with the orange lady during the masquerade. The real-life actors met and fell in love during this movie.

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

IMDB Trivia Correction:

Trivia item states: "Two thirds of Shakespeare's dialogue was sacrificed to make way for 10 Cole Porter songs." Yet only one song was by Cole Porter. The rest were mostly Irving Berlin or the Gershwins.

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

At first I thought Kenneth Branagh narrating the newsreels was going to take me out of the movie but I stopped noticing. The movie requires so much suspension of disbelief that I was willing to go with it.

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

Is there any significance to the champagne, cigarette, or the hero roll?

 

Is this one of the last movies where smoking isn’t portrayed as being immediately distasteful?

Only if you don't count Goldmember

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

Only if you don't count Goldmember

Too early for flapjacks?

[Cameron H. 23786]

I was thinking similarly except that I was surprised each lady let her man get that familiar and sexual with someone else.

 

I didn't have an issue with that since everything is so heightened anyway. Not to mention, it's supposed to be a little bit naughty.

 

That being said, I think it was EvRoberts who said earlier that that scene would have been too overtly sexual for the time period, but I think it was just trying to convey that it was sexy. It's hard to show an image of an ankle to a person today and have them truly understand just how scandalous that would have been at one point without it looking like a joke. Anyway, it's much better than them dressed up like Russians (as they were in the original play).

[Cam Bert 8145]

At first I thought Kenneth Branagh narrating the newsreels was going to take me out of the movie but I stopped noticing. The movie requires so much suspension of disbelief that I was willing to go with it.

I didn't realize it was him narrating them!

[tomspanks 9039]

I was on board with most of this movie - the comedy, the songs, even Alicia and Lillard, bless their hearts. There were moments I legit LOLed at the sight gags and Don Armado (with his tiny Wario mustache) had me in stitches. There's a shot of Branagh in the library looking at his friends in love and he smiles knowingly and I got teary eyed. I think the movie's full of these little moments - which I loved, but had trouble trying to catch while reading the subtitles, lol. But I was really let down by the conclusion. I thought the ending with the war footage was shoehorned in there. WTF with Boyet getting killed off, although he did look fabulous in his war beret, tilted just so. I get they wanted a happy ending, but I could've lived with the movie ending with "you that way, we this way." For me, the ending just didn't jive with the cheeky first half.

[Cameron H. 23786]

I was on board with most of this movie - the comedy, the songs, even Alicia and Lillard, bless their hearts. There were moments I legit LOLed at the sight gags and Don Armado (with his tiny Wario mustache) had me in stitches. There's a shot of Branagh in the library looking at his friends in love and he smiles knowingly and I got teary eyed. I think the movie's full of these little moments - which I loved, but had trouble trying to catch while reading the subtitles, lol. But I was really let down by the conclusion. I thought the ending with the war footage was shoehorned in there. WTF with Boyet getting killed off, although he did look fabulous in his war beret, tilted just so. I get they wanted a happy ending, but I could've lived with the movie ending with "you that way, we this way." For me, the ending just didn't jive with the cheeky first half.

 

I love the ending, but I get what you’re saying. It’s not really a Love’s Labour’s “Lost” this way, is it? That being said, though, there is a lost play of Shakespeare’s called Love’s Labour’s Won - possibly a sequel to this play.* What makes Lost stand out from most of Shakespeare’s comedies is that it doesn’t end with a wedding. It’s possible that this supposed sequel would have given the characters their “proper” ending.** I wonder if by giving it a somewhat happier ending, Branagh was paying homage to this missing play.

 

* Possible because comedy sequels were unusual and Love’s Labour’s Won might have just been a placeholder name for a published play. There’s evidence to support both. I tend to think it the former since this particular play does end unusually and Berowne’s line, “That’s too long for a play.”

 

**I just finished reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer last night, and in the Conclusion, Twain writes this: “When one writes a novel about grown people, he knows exactly where to stop - that is, with a marriage; but when he writes of juveniles, he must stop where best he can.” Considering Dumain’s lack of beard (it’s a thing in the play), this seems pretty apt.

[tomspanks 9039]

I love the ending, but I get what you’re saying. It’s not really a Love’s Labour’s “Lost” this way, is it? That being said, though, there is a lost play of Shakespeare’s called Love’s Labour’s Won - possibly a sequel to this play.* What makes Lost stand out from most of Shakespeare’s comedies is that it doesn’t end with a wedding. It’s possible that this supposed sequel would have given the characters their “proper” ending.** I wonder if by giving it a somewhat happier ending, Branagh was paying homage to this missing play.

 

It does make a difference to know about the possible sequel. However, then don't use a Casablanca ending in the movie!

 

Another criticism-ish comment I had about the movie is that I thought Branagh stood out like a sore thumb - by being too good. At first I thought the king was going to be the lead, but as the movie went on, I felt like Branagh was the lead. Every time he opened his damn mouth, I believed everything he said.

 

* Possible because comedy sequels were unusual and Love’s Labour’s Won might have just been a placeholder name for a published play. There’s evidence to support both. I tend to think it the former since this particular play does end unusually and Berowne’s line, “That’s too long for a play.”

 

Forgot to mention, I loved that line "that's too long for a play." Ha!

[EvRobert 1684]

Branagh being too good is the same issue I had with the "mechanicals" (as they are referred to in Midsummer Night's Dream). He populated those characters with trained Shakespearen and Broadway actors (Spall, Lane, Briers, etc) an das a result they and Branagh stood out with a command of the language and what they were saying that some of the others did not.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Re: lead character

 

In Shakespeare, I feel like the “traditional” heroes are usually pretty dull. For example, in Much Ado About Nothing, Claudio fills the classic archetype of the hero, but is as dull as dishwater. In that case, Benedick (not coincidentally played by Branagh in his version) is the more interesting character.

 

From Shakespeare’s perspective, I feel like Benedick and Berowne were more interesting for a variety of reasons. For one, they were neither too low or high in status. As middle-class characters, they reflected Shakespeare’s own station (and that of the majority of his audience) as well as his perspective. Because of this, these characters are not constrained by Royal protocol. Much like the Fool in Lear (or jesters in general) they enjoy proximity to power, but the freedom to speak their mind and do what they want.

 

As far as Branagh choosing those characters, well, those are the plum roles! He ain’t giving those soliloquies to Lillard - lol.

[tomspanks 9039]

As far as Branagh choosing those characters, well, those are the plum roles! He ain’t giving those soliloquies to Lillard - lol.

 

Aw, poor Matthew Lillard - I really want to give him an A for effort. His body is about 80% limbs, I think. It made for some awkward dancing. I didn't hate it, I just want to give him a participation award. Like this part where he almost crashes into Emily Mortimer:

 

 

I thought, oh no her poor bones!

 

 

 

[tomspanks 9039]

Also, apropos nothing, I loved the tap dancing iambic pentameter.

 

Loved that part in the movie. Something Rotten had something similar (excuse his floppy sleeve):

 

https://youtu.be/bwZ954sqU_E?t=49s

 

Also, this scene:

 

 

Reminded me of La La Land!

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

 

Aw, poor Matthew Lillard - I really want to give him an A for effort. His body is about 80% limbs, I think. It made for some awkward dancing. I didn't hate it, I just want to give him a participation award. Like this part where he almost crashes into Emily Mortimer:

 

 

I thought, oh no her poor bones!

 

 

 

 

I’m just teasing Lillard. I actually think he’s pretty great in this. He’s selling it in every scene, and I respect him for trying to break his typecasting.

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

Did anyone else find Timothy Spall absolutely insufferable? I usually love him and I genuinely think he deserved an Oscar nomination for his role in Mr. Turner, but I just could not stand him in this. It was just too much, too cartoonish, and too much speech impediment. I realize it was mocking the way Spanish people speak, but that doesn't make it any funnier.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Did anyone else find Timothy Spall absolutely insufferable? I usually love him and I genuinely think he deserved an Oscar nomination for his role in Mr. Turner, but I just could not stand him in this. It was just too much, too cartoonish, and too much speech impediment. I realize it was mocking the way Spanish people speak, but that doesn't make it any funnier.

 

It’s not so much the way “Spanish people speak” it’s that he’s adopted an affected manner because he wants to fit in with high society. Shakespeare’s making fun of people who put on airs to impress people. Everything from his title, to the words he uses (and misuses), to the clothes he wears is artifice. In the play, the scenes with him, Sir Nathaniel, and Holofernes highlights this ridiculousness (as well as their own) even further.

 

One could might even go so far as to question whether or not Don Armado is actually even a Spaniard...

 

He’s kind of the Dogberry (From “Much Ado”) in this. See also Michael Keaton’s performance in that...

 

Also, if any of you jokers HAVEN’T seen Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing you really need to fix that.

[Cam Bert 8145]

Did anyone else find Timothy Spall absolutely insufferable? I usually love him and I genuinely think he deserved an Oscar nomination for his role in Mr. Turner, but I just could not stand him in this. It was just too much, too cartoonish, and too much speech impediment. I realize it was mocking the way Spanish people speak, but that doesn't make it any funnier.

This goes to how I felt that everybody was at different levels of energy. I admire him for going so broad and it is suiting for his character to be that broad but he went above and beyond. Maybe if we got to see more of him instead of him being relegated to the newsreels it would have had a better pay off.

[Cam Bert 8145]

Normally I like to do the math but what do you figure the odds are that four men meet four women and then each one of them falls instantly in love with the same member of the opposite sex that has also fallen instantly in love with them and none of their choices overlap? If I was one of these people I would buy a lotto ticket.