This is one of the strangest versions of "Romeo And Juliet" I've come across, mostly because of its setting. I'm fairly certain there have been more films based on "Romeo And Juliet" than "Hamlet". This version is set in modern times, but it doesn't feature two characters from warring families. It actually features two boys in the military who have a gay romance. Their love is forbidden because this was a time where we questioned whether or not gays should be in the military. Now, this movie does have a really good moral to it. Don't judge gays, obviously.The thing that weighs this down is how the execution is really off. It actually features the boys reciting the actual "Romeo And Juliet" play while in this romance. It's pretty awkward to watch. I can see why most people think this movie is just okay. The atmosphere isn't that good. I'll still give this movie credit for putting a new spin on such a classic tale. Since this movie was made, gays have been given complete rights in the United States and that's something I'm always glad to be behind. **1/2

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.

Updated Shakespeare is all the rage since the days of doing Hamlet in modern dress, or the nude version. We have seen and enjoyed everything from Richard III to Coriolanus in updated fashion.A few years back we offered a course in Updated Shakespeare to English majors, and we found a growing army of updated tales on film, whether it was Much Ado about Nothing or A Midsummer Night's Dream.We even loved Leonardo DiCaprio's Romeo and Juliet, and we came with some trepidation to something called Private Romeo.The premise seemed a mite strained. A few cadets at a military academy are left alone at the campus, fending for themselves while the officers and other cadets are off on maneuvers. In one class the stranded and bereft young cadets are studying Shakespeare's romantic tragedy, and they seem to begin to live it.The idea is not so far-fetched, as the original play deals with young hothead teenage gang members in rival factions. There is a secret love story interwoven among the hostilities and budding male adolescent angst.So it is in Private Romeo. The shock of the rival gangs over Romeo's love may be more palatable because the forbidden affair is with another cadet. We found the Shakespearean dialog most apt to cover the situation.The idea of first-love being misguided and overly passionate may befit a gay tale of coming out among cadets.We can forgive a small budget movie stretching its wings, and we can even forgive a half dozen cadets looking like the Glee Club, not future ROTC members. Apart from that, the story picks up steam under director Alan Brown.Scenes from R&J are cleverly woven into conversations about Romeo's unorthodox military affair. Action plays out on basketball court and chemistry lab. Like Elizabethan times, male actors play female roles like Nurse and Juliet's mother, this time in the guise of young cadets. The actors handle multiple roles and dialog is lifted from Shakespeare to meet the situation.This brave effort features Matt Doyle as Cadet Mangan and his alter ego Juliet. Doyle is soft and vulnerable, but hardly feminine or in drag. Seth Numrich plays Cadet Singleton and Romeo. They are commendable.If all male casts disturb you, you would not have been able to appreciate Shakespeare's work played by all male casts in the writer's lifetime.

Alan Brown (Superheroes, Book of Love, etc) has adapted a poignant capsule of Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET and directs his version as a little film that is full of riches. Not only has he allowed Shakespeare's lines to be delivered intact but he has the courage to embellish their meaning by placing the story in a military academy, a move that has a lot of punch considering the recent advances in the military attitude toward gays. Brown very successfully mixes this contemporary all male setting with bits of contemporary dialog and music and academy activity with sports etc to offer a very different look at the tale of forbidden love, has cast a highly gifted cast of New York stage actors to play all the roles, and has the courage to make this all work quite successfully. As one PR summary puts it, 'When eight 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. Incorporating the original text of 'Romeo and Juliet,' YouTube videos, and lip-synced Indie rock music, Private Romeo takes us to a mysterious and tender place that only Shakespeare could have inspired.'Once the setting is established, we are privy to a classroom (English literature) where the men/boys are reciting Sjakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet and from there the readers take on the roles as they move outside the classroom. The extremely talented Seth Mumrich plays Romeo and his gifted costar in Broadway's WAR HORSE Matt Doyle is Juliet. Hale Appleman is given the combined roles of Mercutio and Lord Capulet, Sean Hudock shares both Benvolio and Lady Capulet, Adam Barrie is Friar Lawrence, Chris Bresky plays the Nurse, and the magnetic Bobby Moreno plays Tybalt. Of course each of these characters, being military academy pre-soldiers, has a common name and Alan Brown manages to intermix the reality of these students with the Shakespearean characters deftly. The love that Seth Mumrich and Matt Doyle display is very real and touching and while there is kissing here there is no other manifestation of Shakespeare's perfect but doomed love affair: this movie is for all audiences. After the 'tomb scene' and to bring us back into reality, the very talented Matt Doyle sings 'You made me love you' directly to the audience. A fine way to bring this experimental piece to an end.Everything about this film works well - the Shakespeare excerpts are well molded to provide the essential story and are delivered expertly by the cast, the variations of the military academy theme (especially in these times) is a powerful statement, and the use of contemporary entertainment media enhances the story very well. This is a smart, beautifully acted, well devised and delivered 'update' of one of the oldest love stories in history. Grady Harp