Previously on The Littlest Winslow…I started an Epic Film Quest! Read the deets here!

I spend a lot of time watching shitty movies. I can’t even lie about the fact that I do it on purpose. Slasher movies from the 70’s and 80’s, terrible stoner comedies, Bruce Campbell flicks and beyond, I’m drawn to B- and C-movies like a stupid bug heading towards the pretty, bright and deadly light. You watch about 15 shitty movies looking for that one diamond in the rough. It’s a losing game, really. With this Epic Film Quest ahead of me, I’m singing a different tune though. Sure, I have Your Highness from Netflix chillin’ on my coffee table right now, but my quest beckons, so I chose to view Shakespeare in Love instead. And I liked it quite a bit!

Besides Ben Affleck being terribly miscast (shocker!), I found myself attracted to the story of young Shakespeare and his Lady Viola (the Oscar-worthy Gwyneth Paltrow). Although I do sometimes struggle with period pieces, the pacing and tone of the film were quite dapper! I promised myself these posts wouldn’t turn into full reviews but here’s the skinny: Two competing playhouses are vying for Willy’s play, women aren’t allowed to be on stage but Lady Viola wants to act, naturally she cross-dresses, they fall in love, he figures out it’s her behind that manly get-up, they continue a love affair even though she’s set to marry this doucher and head off to The New World, etc, etc. While watching, I had a very “This is good enough!” feeling, but by film’s end, the final performance of Romeo and Juliet was quite moving, especially given the context and background of the two leads. And in many ways, their lives mirrored Romeo and his fair lady Juliet – and boom. Oscar magic (1998!) happens.

Now for a confession: I accidentally broke the Facebook rule. With my laptop securely hidden in its bag, I didn’t take into consideration my other device: the iPhone! Two Facebook messages popped up. I looked at one and responded to the other. I didn’t actively seek out Facebook – it found me. It didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment of the movie and I didn’t scour the news feed, so all in all it wasn’t a setback, but a minor disgression that I must confess!

What else did I want to say (I actually took notes….and then left them at home. Dammit!)? OH YES. Geoffrey Rush – is he a delight or what? He’s frequently the best part of every movie he’s in (The solid first Pirates movie, the atrocious Pirates sequels, The King’s Speech, etc.) and really acts the shit out of everything. 110% commitment. Kudos, Rush. I also spent about 40 minutes trying to find out where I knew Joseph Fiennes from. The answer was FlashForward. I liked that show. RIP.

I’m babbling now and you know what that means – it’s time to sign off! I leave you with this, fair readers:

You will never age for me, nor fade, nor die. Goodbye my [readers], a thousand times good bye.

Oh, uhh….spoiler alert?

Next up: I don’t know. Whatever I damn well feel like watching. But probably Rocky.