Gary Dretzka
Leonard Klady
David Poland
Ray Pride

Stage Beauty

Billy Crudup makes for an ugly woman. And I never quite got past that fact in this wanna-be variation on Shakespeare in Love. The third act finally gets to the punchline that we all were waiting for and the movie recovers a bit. Claire Danes is terrific in the film and so is Crudup… even if it is impossible to buy him as "the most beautiful woman in England" when he is in drag.

There were two ways to go with this idea. Make a terrific story about the period when men performed female roles and the difficult transition to women playing women. Or make a romp-y comedy that is a lot of fun. The filmmakers here split the difference… and so did my interest.

- by David Poland