Juliet & Romeo

I loved the lighting and directing of this movie... that's about it.

The same beats kept playing throughout the entire movie and I felt like I was slowly going insane. The auto tune was bad and the story was all over the place. I was honestly very confused through this whole movie and ended up bored towards the halfway point.

I did love one actor. His acting and singing really stole the show, and that man is Jamie Ward. Jamie Ward deserves a way better role than this. He needs to be a Disney Prince instead. He would excel at that. The girl that played Juliet wasn't great. Maybe it was the way they wrote her, but I just didn't like her. And why the title change from Romeo and Juliet to Juliet and Romeo other than to be modern. This movie clearly had an agenda and it failed.

My favorite Romeo and Juliet movie is Rosaline. It's funny and modern without being too much. The costumes are better and the acting is great. I know it's not exactly Romeo and Juliet, but it's close. Or watch Journey To Bethlehem. An amazing movie that actually felt true to the story.

You'll either love or hate this movie, based on the reviews it's getting. It's only loosely based on Shakespeare's play so throw that expectation out. On the positive side, the production value is good and it has Derek Jacoby in a major role, a good sign. But you know it's sus when the writer, director, and producer are the same person (a Bogart) and another Bogart is an additional producer as well as responsible for writing all the songs, of which there were way too many and they sounded all the same. At one point one of the main characters was unconscious and I was thinking "well at least she won't sing now" but I was sadly disappointed. If you like a lot of pop songs mixed in with the plot, you might go for this. Personally I enjoyed a silent car ride home after the movie. Tip: Ask for a subtitle machine at the theater because otherwise you might not be able to catch all the dialogue.

This film seemed to have come out of nowhere. I'm pretty up to date on all the latest releases but I had never heard of or seen a preview for a musical film about Romeo and Juliet. I was curious but also had pretty low expectations.

My friend and I saw the film on opening night with two others in the theater including the elderly gentleman who works there. The first 20 minutes were a bit rough, but then I got into it and am happy to report that this is a very good film.

I was impressed by the lavish production and period details. I loved how the film told the story of Romeo and Juliet using proper language but language that could be understood by all. The music had a contemporary pop feel and was both listenable and effective within the context of telling the story.

There are some well known actors who added to the intrigue for me, including Rebel Wilson and Rupert Everett. I enjoyed their performances and felt the acting was strong overall. I did feel Romeo was a bit bland. Perhaps that's why it's called Juliet and Romeo. But the two still had strong chemistry and the actress playing Juliet was terrific.

I wondered who the audience might be for this. It had a bit of a Moulin Rouge vibe so maybe there's a younger audience who might eventually discover it? I recommend this film to anyone who likes musicals and can appreciate the spectacle and an original take on a classic.

I'm going to caveat everything I say below with the knowledge that I love a musical. Please bear that in mind as I delve into the new musical film Juliet & Romeo.

With that out of the way, I want to talk about the thrill of sitting down and watching a musical. For me, it's seeing a story told through the medium of song and dance, with catchy songs and memorable performances. With the exception of one song (which I will come back to), Juliet & Romeo fails to hit the mark on almost every musical moment.

The opening number is OK and fun, but its not until you get to the third or fourth song that you realise they all just sound exactly the same. The same beats, the same sound, everything. Back in 2017 when The Greatest Showman hit the cinema, I remember coming out feeling invigorated and singing the songs, but here everything is just boring. You could skip to anywhere in the soundtrack of Juliet & Romeo and not actually know where you were in the story, unlike the great musicals which mix up their song styles and make every number memorable.

The one standout song in the middle though is the one which takes a leap and tries to do something different. "I Should Write This Down", sung by the Apothecary (Dan Fogler) and to some extent the Friar (Derek Jacobi) is a real gem of a song sung with passion and fun. It's almost like something from a Lin Manuel-Miranda musical and it was this point in the film where I thought we were about to take a huge turn for the better....until the very next scene and the pop-style ballads kicked in again and I remembered that I was watching something very sub-par.

The leads do an alright job as Juliet (Clara Rugaard) and Romeo (Jamie Ward) and they do have some decent support around them from bigger names actors like Rebel Wilson, Jason Isaacs and Rupert Graves, but its a musical and unfortunately falls way short of what it needed to do.

I have to say though, the look and the visuals in the film are absolutely fantastic and credit goes where its due to the production design, but when you're looking for ways to give a film an extra star, it's thin pickings.

Two households botched alike sans dignity, In fair Verona, where we waste our scene, From pop-song folly and false mimicry Of love, thus butchered on a streaming screen.

"O teach me how I should forget to think," Cries Romeo, yet I remember still The cringèd tunes, the cuts that made me blink, A tale of woe refashioned void of skill.

What light through yonder edit breaks? 'Tis cheap.

The soul of Juliet drowned in soulless gloss; And Romeo doth pout, but cannot weep- For depth and verse are both a grievous loss.

This trash, a mirror of our addled age: Where meme is king, and fools deface the stage.