For those who liked "Sharknado 2" and "Lucy" (I'm looking at you, Billy), my favorite delightful movie with a ridiculous plot will be on Saturday afternoon at 4:30, on TCM. It's called "I Love You Again" and stars William Powell and Myrna Loy. In fact, Saturday is William Powell day on TCM, so it looks like I'll be staying home and noshing on cookies.

The Taming of the Shrew, the one with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Lively version that helped keep the actors in shape with a lot of running and climbing as Petruchio tries to woo Katarina and she's having none of it. There are a lot nice little touches, including Kate's double takes when Petruchio first tells her he intends to woo her and later at their very strange wedding. I was struck by how, when Petruchio is leaving the city gates and calling Kate to follow, and she's looking around for support and there is absolutely nobody there to support her. (I also smiled at how quickly she starts to subvert Petruchio's household staff.) Taylor finds a way to deliver the problematic final speech to suggest that Kate has lost none of her fire, but is aiming it in another direction.

Altogether a pretty good version, and any problems are with the original play. They even got rid of the Sly section and found a better way to suggest it is a farce. (7 of 10)

The Taming of the Shrew, the one with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Lively version that helped keep the actors in shape with a lot of running and climbing as Petruchio tries to woo Katarina and she's having none of it. There are a lot nice little touches, including Kate's double takes when Petruchio first tells her he intends to woo her and later at their very strange wedding. I was struck by how, when Petruchio is leaving the city gates and calling Kate to follow, and she's looking around for support and there is absolutely nobody there to support her. (I also smiled at how quickly she starts to subvert Petruchio's household staff.) Taylor finds a way to deliver the problematic final speech to suggest that Kate has lost none of her fire, but is aiming it in another direction.

Altogether a pretty good version, and any problems are with the original play. They even got rid of the Sly section and found a better way to suggest it is a farce. (7 of 10)

I disliked Burton's performance intensely. He had one expression that fit all his facial features, and one infuriating chuckle for whenever he was not speaking. I found it convenient to conclude that he probably was drunk, though I don't know.

I've seen two live performances recently, and it looks as though the business of Kate sliding her hand under Petruchio's deliberately upturned shoe heel is on the way out. Pity. How did the film treat it?

You can still John Cleese play the lead, but I wouldn't bother.

[Burton does do that during most of the film; it's kind of a devilish amused look, but he does drop it sometime when nobody's looking at Petruchio, which suggest to me that Pertuchio is generally playing a part. I don't think it's a really good performance by Burton. I like Taylor's a lot better. She has a nice laugh, and there's one moment when she goes from crying to giggling, right before she starts agreeing with Petruchio's absurdities.

I wonder if the way to stage it would be not to mitigate Kate's humiliation, but to show it for what it is - let the audience mourn for her broken spirit.