Private Romeo

2011

Action / Drama / Romance

6
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 64% · 11 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 64% · 500 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.0/10 10 2501 2.5K

uniform cadet kiss gym lgbt shakespeare in modern dress

Plot summary

When eight male cadets are left behind at an isolated military high school, the greatest romantic drama ever written seeps out of the classroom and permeates their lives.

Director

Alan Brown Photo
Alan Brown

Top cast

Matt Doyle Photo
Matt Doyle as Glenn Mangan / Juliet
Charlie Barnett Photo
Charlie Barnett as Ken Lee / Prince Escalus
Seth Numrich Photo
Seth Numrich as Sam Singleton / Romeo
Hale Appleman Photo
Hale Appleman as Josh Neff / Mercutio / Capulet
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
899.33 MB
1280*682
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds 2
1.63 GB
1920*1024
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds 1

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by vowelljb 7 / 10

A Nice Movie...Not Sure Why All The Bad Reviews

This was really a nice adaptation of "R&J'...Yes it took some liberties, but it was well acted and, in the end, a very sweet tale.I am not sure why it has gotten such negative reviews. No...it is not your typical "gay" movie...which is why it works. THe movie is dependent on the Shakeperean text which may have turned some off. The actors are all believable, and if not the best acting I have seen, it is much better than a lot of cheesy movies of the genre. The two leads, Seth Numrich and Matt Doyle play their angst and conflict quite well, drawing the viewer in to their plight.If you go into this film with no expectations you should enjoy it. I think if you are looking for a "gay" film or a masterful adaptation of Shakespeare you will be disappointed. Take it for what it is and enjoy it.
Reviewed by Havan_IronOak 6 / 10

Gender Blind Casting is OK... PLOT-Blind cinematography is NOT

Just watched Private Romeo and I gotta say I was disappointed after all the positive comments & reviews. I understood that the story was a modern take on the Romeo & Juliet story set in a boys' military academy. For me it just didn't work. I tried to get behind the "gender blind" casting, a variation on "color blind" casting in which the audience pretends NOT to notice a the actors race and just goes with the character as written. For me this didn't work because the characters adhered so loosely to the characters as written. The story is all about how two factions are brought to grief when a member of each faction kills themselves after becoming a couple. In this version, I couldn't tell the factions apart or even if there really were any. There were no parental arranged marriages, no killing of cousins in duels, and even bigger departures from the story... but that would be telling!I'm a big fan of restaging Shakespeare in other scenarios. West Side Story and Ran are great examples where "bending the Bard" actually added new and interesting aspects to an already classic tale, but this one added nothing and detracted a LOT. I saw all of my favorite speeches of the play marred and made less by this staging. Also the production values were glaringly deficient in spots. Why stage a military drill scene without bothering to ensure uniform uniforms, and with so small a number of "cadets?"This felt much less organic throughout than that Woody Allen movie where he took an already released Japanese movie and substituted his own dialogue. The boys were pretty and there were moments where the actors managed to get my interest & empathy DESPITE the total lack of any help from the vehicle they were performing in. It may well be me. There are a number of very positive reviews of this film by critics from The NY Times and The Village Voice et. al. but after seeing this I'm if some form of payola wasn't involved...
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