A Knight’s Tale
Subtle references

Cast and Credits Starring: Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Mark Addy, Laura Fraser, Paul Bettany Directed by: Brian Helgeland Produced by: Tim Van Rellim, Todd Black, Brian Helgeland Written by: Curtis Hanson, Brian Helgeland Distributor: Columbia Tristar

Do not, for an instant, think that A Knight’s Tale is even remotely based on the Geoffrey Chaucer original from The Canterbury Tales, though it is loosely inspired by it. And yes, there is a poet-in-trouble called Geoffrey Chaucer. But, A Knight’s Tale is as much Chaucer as Shakespeare in Love was Shakespearean. Any cerebral activity can mar the pleasure of this film.

William Thatcher (Heath Ledger), a young squire has a gift for jousting. His master dies suddenly, just as he was on the verge of winning the tournament. The squire fills in for his dead master, and from then on along with his cohorts — Roland (Mark Addy) and Wat (Alan Tudyk), the knight-pretender takes to jousting at tournaments, and selling his prize for a meal and sundry comforts. Along the way, the threesome stumbles across an impoverished writer, Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany). Lack of poetic talents is amply made up by his skill at creating a noble genealogy for William, which goes beyond Charlemagne! Not to forget Geoffrey is an impresario, master of ceremonies and press agent all rolled into one. Hence, William now Sir Ulrich, with his newly-minted family-history in hand, sets out to prove himself a worthy knight at jousting competitions.

Just as he finds favour in Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon), he also falls out of favour with Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell). Borrowing subtle references from well-worn tales like Ivanhoe, Cyrano de Bergerac and others, the film moves on predictably. Imagine the spectators at the jousts cheering to the Freddie Mercury/ Queen Anthem We will rock you, you might as well expect William and friends to chant We are the Champions, when they win a tournament. And yes, Geoffrey could well have been MTV’s prime veejay.

A Knight’s Tale is a marriage of MTV and the Middle Ages. At the same time, it shakes off the belief system that fortunes are preordained and cannot made. William succeeds in turning fortune in his favour. It needs a great deal of cutting edge direction to turn in a parody of well-known tales. The director Brian Helgeland has just about managed to stay afloat, but he could have edited the film by a few thousand feet. The irreverence of the now popular culture has gelled well with the mediareview setting. No one in particular can be singled out for the acting honours, yet Heath Ledger is someone to watch for.

What’s The Worst That Could Happen?
Not over the top

Cast and Credits Starring: Martin Lawrence, Danny DeVito, John Leguizamo, Glenne Headly, William Fichtner Directed by: Sam Weisman Produced by: David Hoberman, Ashok Amritraj, John Morrissey, Lawrence Turman, John Morrisey, Wendy Dytman Written by: Matthew Chapman, Barry Fanaro Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

When Danny DeVito and Martin Lawrence feature in the credits, there are no prizes for guessing that it’s a comedy. For both the actors have proved themselves worthy of a few laughs in their previous outings. With these two around, what is really the worst that could happen, other than a few bellyfuls of laughter?

What’s The Worst That Could Happen? is the new funny on the block. Kevin Caffery (Martin Lawrence) is a thief with taste and style. He eyes a young woman Amber Belhaven (Carmen Ejogo) at an auction, and wins her over by stealing the very painting she has auctioned to pay off some debts. Kevin gets a tip off about a heist: billionaire tycoon Max Fairbanks’ (Danny DeVito) supposedly empty beachfront mansion. But as Kevin and his friend Berger (John Leguizamo) help themselves to the goodies, Max is upstairs having a romp. But, Kevin he finds himself eyeballing Max. Just before the cops drag Kevin away, Max spies Kevin’s good-luck ring and decides to claim it as his own. The ring was given to Kevin by Amber, and he is determined to get it back. Kevin aided by Berger sets up heist after heist, to rob Max blind and to get the ring back; he even exposes Max’s attempt to bribe the Congress and Kevin and friends take over the auctioning of Max’s mansion and its movable properties. The final laugh is Kevin posing as Max’s attorney and helping him walk away squeaky clean, but not before he has walked away with something of Max’s.
What’s The Worst That Could Happen? showcases the combined comic talents of Martin Lawrence and Danny DeVito. If the latter two are being considered a comedy team, they have an able partner in John Leguizamo, who steals the brief scene as the auctioneer. The director Sam Weisman has made a prudent caper, which doesn’t go over the top and has a tight rein on comedy. Playing the pintsized unscrupulous tycoon who plays the con and gets conned. seems to be DeVito’s calling card. Thankfully, this is one comedy, which is not totally over the top.

—Piroj Wadia
pirojwadia@hotmail.com

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