Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
Director
Kenneth Branagh
Cast
Kenneth Branagh,
Alessandro Nivola,
Adrian Lester,
Matthew Lillard,
Alicia Silverstone,
Natascha McElhone
Genre
Comedy,
Music,
Romance
An update of the classic Shakespeare story, director Kenneth Branagh shot this movie like a classic 30s musical. Love's Labour's Lost tells the story of four best friends who swear off love. The King of Navarre and his three companions swear a very public oath to study together and to renounce women for three years. Their honour is immediately put to the test by the arrival of the Princess of France and her three lovely companions. It's love at first sight for all concerned followed by the men's highly entertaining but hopeless efforts to disguise their feelings.
Boston Globe by Jay Carr
Branagh and Love's Labour's Lost all but will themselves into liftoff. They achieve it, and in doing so, they somehow make it right to our pleasure centers with their generous embrace of stardust and pizazz.
Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten
The effect is weird but it, actually, kind of works, illuminating both Shakespeare and the artifice of musicals.
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
The leaden bits do bring the proceedings to a screeching halt too many times, but the costumes are breathtaking, and the details (like color-coordinated martinis) are dazzling.
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
Even though Love's Labour's Lost is, in showbiz terms, a turkey stuffed with chestnuts, you wouldn't trade it for a pot of gold.
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
It's all very colorful, but the movie's diverse elements clash as often as they cooperate.
Salon by Charles Taylor
Love's Labour's Lost is flawed, but Kenneth Branagh remains our greatest living interpreter of Shakespeare.
TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox
As if to prove that light romantic comedy can be just as difficult to stage as Shakespeare, Kenneth Branagh fails at both, simultaneously.
Dallas Observer by Gregory Weinkauf
Taken as a whole, the movie seems to be searching for a harmony it never really achieves.
Portland Oregonian by Kim Morgan
An atrocity exhibition from start to finish.
Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum
Misguided version of one of the Bard's best comedies.
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