Following up on some recent threads, here’s a question. A friend, maybe a coworker, somebody you know casually but not well, asks your opinion on a Shakespeare performance that is in town. Specifically they ask, “Is it worth going?” What do you say? Do you ever give Shakespeare a bad as in “Don’t go” review? While As You Like It is in town, several coworkers have asked for my review. I find myself pained to give an actual go-or-dont-go answer to the question, because the idea of saying “No, don’t go to Shakespeare” is something that can’t really come out of my mouth. I realize that it’s not for everybody, sure. But the idea that somebody would choose to not see it at all, based on my opinion, is not really cool with me. Some exposure to Shakespeare, even if you don’t like it, is better than none.
Cough, splutter, restraint: Regularly had to say to people, I wouldn’t bother with that one …Would you say go and see to someone who asked about the Ethan what-do-you -call-im Hamlet?
Anyone who is asking is asking because they ain’t mad-about-the-man, so inflicting what you consider less than good on someone who is unsure is surely counter productive?
Good point, I suppose, although I think the distinction between film and performance is important. Even with the Ethan Hawke Hamlet I might find myself saying at most “I didn’t like that one”, whereas there have been regular movies that are bad enough that I will tell people “No. Seriously, don’t bother. Save your money.”
I think that with performance I at least hold out hope that it can change from night to night, and perhaps if I didn’t like it, I caught them on a bad night. Meanwhile, “Are We There Yet” and “Daddy Day Camp” will always be bad movies.