Shakespeare adaptations seem to multiply like TikTok dance trends these days, and “Juliet & Romeo” — landing in theaters this May — throws its hat into the ring with a peculiar mix of pop sensibilities and period drama flair. The result? Well, that’s complicated.
Timothy Scott Bogart’s latest directorial venture certainly doesn’t lack ambition. Working alongside his Grammy-winning brother Evan “Kidd” Bogart (yeah, the same guy behind some of Beyoncé’s chart-toppers), the film attempts to bridge a rather daunting gap between 14th-century Verona and 2025’s TikTok generation. Sometimes it works. Sometimes… not so much.
Fresh faces Clara Rugaard and Jamie Ward step into those legendary star-crossed shoes. Their chemistry? Let’s just say it feels more like awkward first-date vibes than the earth-shattering passion we’ve come to expect from Shakespeare’s most famous lovers. Though honestly, who could live up to that pressure?
The supporting cast reads like a theater kid’s dream lineup — Derek Jacobi bringing gravitas to Friar Lawrence, Jason Isaacs brooding magnificently as Lord Montague, and Rupert Everett doing what Rupert Everett does best as Lord Capulet. Even Rebel Wilson shows up as Lady Capulet, trading her usual comedic zaniness for something more… maternal? It’s an interesting choice, to say the least.
But here’s where things get messy. The film can’t quite decide what it wants to be. One minute we’re deep in historical accuracy territory, the next we’re watching Nicholas Podany’s Mercutio shouting “Where the hell art thou, Romeo?” in what feels like a Gen-Z Shakespeare fever dream. The clash between old and new isn’t always graceful — kinda like trying to make Renaissance faire costumes work at Coachella.
The musical numbers? They’re polished enough for radio play, sure. But they often feel more like something you’d hear on Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits than revolutionary theatrical pieces. Bogart’s camera work shows promise, with some genuinely sharp choreographed tracking shots giving the film its pulse. Still, the actual dance numbers (courtesy of Broadway vets Jeff and Rick Kuperman) rarely transcend basic music video territory.
Oddly enough, the infamous balcony scene — you know, only the most quoted bit of romance in literary history — gets the axe. Instead, we spend considerable time with Dan Fogler’s Apothecary, now reimagined as some sort of medieval humanitarian running an underground railroad for refugees. Bold choice? Sure. Necessary? That’s debatable.
The production design, at least, absolutely slaps. It’s a visual feast that manages to feel both period-appropriate and weirdly contemporary. Clearly, Bogart and company understood their assignment: make Shakespeare palatable for an audience raised on streaming services and social media.
At 122 minutes, though, the film occasionally loses the plot — quite literally. Political intrigue and various subplots keep pulling focus from what should be the main event: that devastating first love story that’s kept audiences coming back for centuries.
Look, modernizing Shakespeare isn’t exactly a walk in the park. For every “10 Things I Hate About You,” there’s a dozen forgotten attempts gathering dust in the streaming algorithm graveyard. “Juliet & Romeo” deserves credit for trying something different, even if it doesn’t quite stick the landing. Whether audiences will vibe with this pop-culture-meets-iambic-pentameter experiment… well, that’s another story entirely.
Maybe that’s fitting, though. Love’s course never did run smooth, after all — and neither does the path to successfully updating the Bard for a new generation. At least this version’s got some bangers on the soundtrack.
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