What Should I Watch Tonight?
(Hoffman, 1999)
In my experience, bringing up Shakespeare in conversation is a risky move. I enjoy Shakespeare, but I’m by no means an expert. First of all, I’ve read ten of his plays, tops, and I haven’t read one single history. For the most part, I prefer his comedies, which is basically like saying your favorite Dickens book is A Christmas Carol. So, before you watch this with a friend, keep in mind the three responses to suggesting a Shakespearean movie night.
- You get the person who hates Shakespeare. Most likely, this is because he or she had a horrible English teacher. There are a lot of pretentious teachers out there who are teaching Shakespeare like it’s a sacred text. I’m no professional, but personally I find him more enjoyable when you just read the plays like they’re light entertainment. On the other hand, they might have had the English teacher who hated Shakespeare and came right out and said it.
- You get the person who loves Shakespeare. Loves him. LOVES HIM. Either this is the pretentious English teacher from number one, or this is the person who has actually read the histories, and doesn’t consider you a real human unless you have too.
- You get the cool person, who might mention that they prefer Emma Thompson in Much Ado About Nothing, but is generally okay about the whole idea. This is your target, choose wisely.
Pictured: family fun
There are summer books, and then there are summer books. Everyone has their favorite. For me, it comes down to three, which are all perfect for the sweltering season: The Great Gatsby, The Picture of Dorian Grey, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 1999, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kevin Klein, Christian Bale, and Stanley Tucci all decided to come together and turn my favorite summer book ever into the perfect summer movie. Yes, the plot is absurd, and maybe the dialogue is a little hard to follow if you’ve never read the play, but even if that’s the case, there is still plenty to dazzle, visually, and the whole thing is so over-the-top gorgeous, that it’s absolutely worth the convoluted story.
Sensory overload
Apart from the great performances, and the extremely stylistic filmic quality, I love this play and this movie because of its homoerotic undertones. Sure, Twelfth Night has cross-dressing, and men dressed like women dressed like men falling in love with men dressed like women, but A Midsummer Night’s Dream leaves it all unsaid. Personally, when I’m watching all I can think about is what would have happened if Lysander saw Demetrius right after he’d been enchanted. There has got to be a raunchy 70’s novel with that plot.
Plus, Beastiality!
Also, I’m not gonna lie, this is my second favorite movie to take a nap to.
Cinephobia 
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