All's Faire in Love (2009)

I actively like romantic comedies. I've worked at and participated in various Renaissance Fairs. I expect the usual tropes of boy meets girl, combined with one of the exploring an unfamiliar setting. However, I also expect the usual respect for the setting and character growth; this movie failed at this and instead was awkward to the end and insulting to the domain.The lead actor was a travesty - his portrayal of a quarterback was neither believable and distracting. He did achieve uncomfortable, it wasn't that his character was uncomfortable you could tell the actor was uncomfortable in the setting and the role. His direction & costumes weren't any better - instead of the expected growth and acceptance that you'd expect and the characters tell you (heavy handedly) is occurring, the lead seemed directed to play as the Midwestern college student lead from every other romance - with no change in behaviour or mannerisms from start to finish.And finally, their epic finale was simply lame.

Kate (Christina Ricci) is interviewing for a business job when she suddenly informs the three male questioners that she is feeling too warm. To their astonishment, Kate bolts behind a blackboard and changes from a tight business suit into a lovely flowering dress. You see, this young lady wants to be an actress, not a workaholic businesswoman. Defying her parents wishes, she abandons THEIR aspirations and signs on to perform at a Renaissance fair for the summer. Once there, she learns she is to be a "peasant" in the underling group; another circle of performers plays the ruling class, including the queen (Ann Margret). Naturally, although they all want to play their parts well, those actors in the upper class roles sometimes make trouble for the peasants. Meanwhile, also joining the peasant troupe is Will (Owen Benjamin). He is a football player at a major college and, when he failed to attend enough classes, has been given the chance to earn sufficient credits to stay on the team. His prof (Cedric the Entertainer) demands that he work at the fair. Having no other choice, he does so. Almost immediately, he becomes a target for abuse by the "uppers" as they sense he doesn't really care for his job. He doesn't, that is, not until he meets Kate. Before long, this fair might not be such a bad thing after all, thinks Will! But, there are complications. A big, obnoxious "upper" takes a shine to Kate while the queen's daughter tries to entice Will into her arms. Also, Will gets in scrapes, where he is punished by stocks and hurled rotten vegetables. Is there a future for W and K? This very lovely romantic comedy has the stuff to soothe its fans into a satisfied sigh. Ricci and Benjamin are attractive and winning as the principals. After the wonderful Penelope, Ricci is fast becoming a favorite lady for the genre. The rest of the cast, including AM, is likewise very fine, making a great impression. As for the fair sets, they are a fantastical delight, and ditto for the costumes, too. Then, too, the script has plenty of mirthful moments related to the medieval world, although occasionally the words uttered fall somewhat flat, and the direction is adequately energetic. All romcom fans, its fair to say you will find this flick a great watch, so get it before a fortnight arrives.

SPOILER ALERT: If your idea of comedy is watching people get urinated on by a goat, then you will like this movie. I'm not even kidding! There's a whole scene where they pick up a goat to have it urinate on them because they think it will remove a curse.What's a curse doing in a Renaissance Fair movie? Good question. It's a lame bit that makes no sense. I like silly movies and all (Harold and Kumar rock!) but this was not even that. I also like crazy stuff too like Boratt, but this was not crazy it was just stupid.My friend dragged me to this because she's a Ren Faire person and works there every year, and she didn't like it either. I've been to Faires and they're kinda fun, but this movie did not even show what a real faire is like.Like in the movie there was this rule that said a guy had to sleep with the girl who was playing a princess because it was tradition and he'd get fired if he didn't.Hello?! You can't fire people for not sleeping with the boss! That's what I'm talking about -- it was just stupid.If you see this movie playing somewhere don't bother going even if you like RenFaires. Just save your money and go to a real faire.

I have loved Christina Ricci since Addams Family and I feel like I've grown up with her. I don't understand why she did this movie! I saw it here at a festival in L.A. at a free screening and it was soooo disappointing. She looks great -- she's super skinny. But the dresses they had her in were bad. Those RenFaire dresses can be so hot looking, but she looked uncomfortable! How can they make a beautiful girl like her look plain? Anyway, that would be fine if the movie were good, which it is not. I only laughed like twice, and it's supposed to be a comedy. No one else was laughing either. I've been to RenFaire a couple of times, and it was silly, but it was fun -- this movie was not fun.There's this character who has a unicorn puppet named "Horny", get it??? Cuz he has a horn?? Yeah, that's how stupid this movie was. And the kept giving that character more and more lines. So annoying.And the guy she's supposed to fall in love with is (a) not funny and (b) not cute. You can fall for a guy who's not cute if he's funny, but this guy wasn't either. So the audience just did not believe they would end up together. He's more like a guy you would go out with out of pity, you know? Which is fine in a movie, but not as the romantic lead! Sorry to be negative, but I'm just upset at how bad this movie was. Even though we didn't pay to see it, I'm still mad. I hope Christina Ricci got paid a lot, at least!