Pearl TV
Pearl Likes As You Like It
Pearl really enjoyed As You Like It on HBO last night, especially all of the Japanese fight scenes and the sumo wrestling. Japanese fight scenes and sumo wrestling? We are talking about Shakespeare, right? Yep. The pastoral romantic comedy, right? Yep. I’m afraid I didn’t like the film as much as Pearl, even though I’m a big Kenneth Branagh fan and he directed.
I’d read a review by The New York Times TV critic last week which was just a little scathing. I figured the critic was just being, well, critical. So, I was willing to give the film the benefit of the doubt. But, nope. The critic was right, at least in my opinion. Where was the comedy? There was precious little humor or romance. Most of the fun was with the secondary characters. And that whole business about the battle that sets up going off into the woods — where all of the important action really takes place — well, that stuff is just supposed to be a lead in. Branagh made it take up half the movie. It made everything much too tense and un-funny. He turned a pastoral romantic comedy into something as dark as King Lear.
Anyway, as I said, Pearl enjoyed all of the drama and action, even if I was disappointed. She perched herself up on top of the pillow above my head (the way she does when she watches Star Trek), and watched the movie with her eyes open wide. Perhaps she will grow up to be a TV critic.
