A KNIGHT’S TALE

"A Knight’s Tale" steals bits and pieces from the world of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and reinvents them with a contemporary sensibility that shamelessly embraces today’s pop culture with its spiked hairdos, Nike symbols and a classic rock score that is in perfect synch with the action. A few dull performances and some lame lines make "A Knight’s Tale" less than it could have been but the fun stuff far outweighs the bad. The sight of the peasantry rocking on the balls of their feet and thunderously thumping their staffs on the floor of the grandstand to the chant of "We will, we will, we will Rock you" by Queen (the rock group not a monarch) at the first jousting event is inspired. It sets the tone for the entire movie with its tongue in cheek anachronistic style while tipping its hat to some classic movie influences. A love letter by committee and some spoon fed lines to the tongue tied hero to win the heart of a lady are reminiscent of "Cyrano de Bergerac" and a mysterious nobleman who reveals his true identity to save the hero is right out of "Robin Hood." Helgeland gets a good assist with a youthful cast that helps make the fears and yearnings of ye olden times just as palpable for today’s audience.

Heath Ledger is not afraid to play the fool as William Thatcher, a liege who dons his master’s armor upon his death. He is hell bent on becoming a knight himself by coming up through the ranks in the sporting event of his day - jousting. He rises to the occasion through pure gall, deception, and -Practice! Practice! Practice! But when it comes to love - in his words - he thinks like a poet and acts like an idiot. Mark Addy is the pragmatic sensitive pal while Alan Tudyk is not afraid to tell it like it is. As Wat, he’s the first to raise his voice and his fists. Paul Bettany’s Geoffrey Chaucer has a gambling problem and the gift of gab. He’s also a great forger. His bogus identity papers are William’ s ticket out of the bush leagues and into the big time as Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein. He is the Ed McMahon of his time introducing Sir Ulrich as if he were Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. Compared to these four fun leads, the women’s roles fall short. Newcomer Shannon Sossamon is pure window dressing as Jocelyn - the lady faire who claim’s William’s heart and Laura Fraser is not given enough to do as the women’s libber of her day, a blacksmith who tags along as part of William’s pit crew, fixing his armor all the way to the World Championships. Topping off the cast is Rufus Sewell as the very hissable Count Adhemar who is determined to expose William and take Jocelyn for himself.

Yes - "A Knight’s Tale" is predictable - the outcome is a given. Yes - "A Knight’s Tale" is derivative - but only because Brian Helgeland relies on the established plot conventions of the period genre to hold things together. There’s the joust, the father who apprentices his son to an errant knight at an early age - the same son who longs to return home after a life of adventure. There’s the loyal friends who come to love him like a brother who provide much of the comic relief. It’s the male and female relationships that get skewered by Helgeland especially when Jocelyn uses her wiles to usurp William’s macho posturing with great comic effect.

He becomes more exalted, the more he loses in one of the prize scenes that make "A Knight’s Tale" more fun than it may deserve to be.

Copyright 2001

"Young Frankenstein" (1974) - Takes on the original "Frankenstein" (1931) and the sequel "The Bride of Frankenstein" (1935) with Peter Boyle as the Monster and Gene Wilder as the mad doctor.

"Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (1993) - Mel takes on the legendary figure of Sherwood Forest that spoofs "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991) with Kevin Costner more than the traditional Robin Hood.

"The Last Remake of Beau Geste" (1977) - Marty Feldman co wrote and directed this Foreign Legion spoof of "Beau Geste" about three brothers, a stolen heirloom and a sadistic commander. The first straight version was a 1927 silent with Ronald Colman. The most famous version from 1939 was directed by William Wellman and starred Gary Cooper, Ray Milland and Robert Preston. The last and least successful version from 1966 had Guy Stockwell, Doug McClure and Leslie Neilsen from the "Naked Gun" movies.

"The Black Shield of Falworth" (1954) Tony Curtis is fun to watch as a knight who must reclaim his father’s name. This will give you an idea what appealed to teens back in the mid-fifties. This is the movie where Tony met Janet Leigh. Great Technicolor and Cinemascope helped make this a hit.

"Ivanhoe" (1952) - Sumptuous filming of Sir Walter Scott’s classic with Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor and a distinguished British cast who help bring the Middle ages to life. There’s a great jousting event too!

"Knights of the Round Table" (1953) - The Arthurian legend is brought to life with Robert Taylor as Lancelot, Ava Gardner as Guinnevere, and Mel Ferrer as the King Arthur.

"The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) - This Errol Flynn film is the bona fide classic that’s still hard to beat. The great cast includes Claude Rains as Prince John, Basil Rathbone as The Sheriff of Nottingham, and Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian among others.