The Scene Stealers

Dazzlingly inventive, cleverly passionate, the smart new movie Shakespeare in Love taps some of Britain's showiest talent

THE REAL THING Tom Stoppard His witty wordplay would make even the Bard proud

As attuned to the absurdities of modern life as anyone, the British playwright Tom Stoppard nevertheless cannot believe something he has heard about Shakespeare in Love. "Is it true that in America you can't see this film if you're 15?" he asks, his understanding of an R rating only slightly off. "That glimpse of nipple, and we lose 10 million viewers!"

He might well be confused. The unlikely hit Stoppard has co-written with Los Angeles screenwriter Marc Norman is indeed daring--but only in its literary aspirations. Shakespeare...

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