Cross dressing for entertainment purposes has a long tradition in both the movies and on TV. Yet, its origins -- mainly referring to men dressing as women -- go way back to the theater. There, such donning of wigs, dresses and feminine makeup was also done for laughs like their modern day counterparts. Yet, it was also done out of necessity.
In days of old, women weren't allowed to perform on the stage. Thus, to avoid having to present works featuring only male characters, some men dressed up to play the female parts. "Stage Beauty" is the tale of such a real life performer who lived and prospered in the 1600s (here, only to find his job endangered by his female assistant who broke the rules and covertly played women on the stage).
If that sounds vaguely familiar, it should, as there are various similarities between it and the award-winning "Shakespeare in Love." It's a dangerous tactic -- from an artistic sense -- to follow such an acclaimed and popular work, but screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher (who's making his feature debut by adapting his own play) and director Richard Eyre ("Iris") have damned the cinematic torpedoes (and potential critical reaction) and proceeded anyway.
To be fair, the films do have their differences. One was a light romantic comedy featuring the most famous playwright of all time as well as a young woman who performed as a man on the stage. This release is a bit more serious of a tale, although some light comedic touches are present now and then about shifting social and gender mores as well as the notion of what really makes a man a man and a woman a woman.
While that might sound a bit preachy or potentially heavy-handed, it thankfully doesn't possess too much of either commodity. That said, some of the dialogue is a bit obvious in all of its symbolism, and some viewers may be put off by the film's homosexual material (that serves in theme to address that "what makes a" gender motif).
Thus, while it does have enjoyable moments, it's neither as entertaining nor as cohesive as "SIL." You can see what the filmmakers are after, but the end result isn't quite there. Some bits are too obvious and others too coincidental, while some of the comedic elements feel a tad out of place in relation to the rest of the material. That mainly refers to the somewhat foppish king Charles II character played by Rupert Everett ("The Importance of Being Earnest," "The Next Best Thing"). Although he generates some laughs, some of the material (including the other characters' rather unbelievable and easy access to the throne) feels contrived or forced.
As the main cross-dressing theatrical performer, however, Billy Crudup ("Big Fish," "Almost Famous") is quite good. From enjoying the spoils of his unique stardom to his unexpected downfall and then return again, the actor is completely engaging and believable in the part. The scene where he tries to prove he can play a man on the stage -- where his years of training to be a woman there ultimately undermine him -- is heartbreaking despite some of his character's earlier, callous behavior.
Claire Danes ("Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," "Igby Goes Down") plays the woman who upends his professional life while being interested in him romantically. While more than competent from start to finish, there was just something about her performance -- like the film in general -- that failed to blow me away as I felt it should have. The likes of Tom Wilkinson ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "In the Bedroom"), Richard Griffiths ("Sleepy Hollow," the "Harry Potter" films) and Ben Chaplin ("Murder By Numbers," "The Thin Red Line") are all fine in their various supporting roles, credibly playing their period parts and decently adding to the overall mix.
Aside from the early criticisms, there was just something missing and/or slightly askew that prevents the film from being so much better, enjoyable and entertaining than it is. Nevertheless and as it stands, it's still an interesting and fairly engaging look at the theater as well as ever-changing gender roles in the days of old. "Stage Beauty" rates as a 6 out of 10.
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