Ken and his luvvies here mix Shakespeare with Cole Porter. Except that Cole
was perfectly capable of doing it himself to far better effect in his Kiss
Me Kate.
Branagh in setting Shakespeare's less well-known comedy Love's Labour's
Lost, in a sophisticated 1930s/40s milieu tempted him towards the great
Hollywood musicals of that era. Looking at the stills in the booklet he has
sought to capture all that era's glitter in the extravagant costumes and
sets à la Busby Berkeley, and in incorporating classical popular songs
by the Gershwins, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin as well as Cole Porter. The
original music by Patrick Doyle provides a seamless framework around them.
That is to say in those cues that contain the masters' songs he writes
considerable introductions and then sympathetically, for the most part, arranges
their music to fit the film's characters and situations. This is one of Doyle's
most enchanting scores; it really sparkles. It is full of charm and romantic
fantasy. He uses varying styles through the course of the film. There is
the glamour of Hollywood/Broadway implicit in the exuberant Overture There
is nobility and majesty for the Royalty, and a clever parody on the 1940s
March of Time music for 'Cinetone News'. And there is something
of the English String tradition (shades of Elgar and Vaughan Williams) for
the Collegian associations - in the lovely extended cue, "You that way, we
this way…"
The actors sing the songs themselves with varying degrees of success. Ken's
opening number 'I'd Rather Charleston' was quite good and it lulled me into
a false sense of security, but then Richard Briers and an awfully twee Geraldine
McEwan, frequently parting harmonic company, set my teeth on edge (possibly
in character in the film) singing The Way You look Tonight'. Bizarre was
the description I would apply to Timothy Spall's rather Spanish Latin rendition
of 'I get a kick out of you.' Mind you, Spall is rather good, in fact,
practically marvellous compared to some of the ensemble singing with the
cast consistently scooping up or down to their notes, seemingly quite unable
to hit them on the nose. This trait was so bad in 'They Can't take that Away
from Me', I had to retaliate with the thought, "Just watch us!" - and another
thought, "Mrs Branagh, please Mrs Branagh, on my knees Mrs Branagh don't
put your son on the (musical) stage!
Reviewer
Ian Lace
Patrick Doyle's music
'The Way You Look Tonight' and 'They Can't Take that Away from Me'
and
The other songs 
OST 
