Watch Hollywood today, and tell me that sex and violence don't sell. And don't tell me that "Romeo and Juliet" is about romance; young teens rarely understand what romantic love is and all too frequently mistake lust for love. Shakespeare needed dough, and "Romeo and Juliet" provided it for him. Some of his other pieces are also primarily fluff, but they were fluff in a more cerebral fashion. "Romeo and Juliet" simply panders to the lowest common denominator.

It's in this vein that Shakespeare wrote this spurious piece. There's nothing here that tells us anything about the human condition other than what we already know and acknowledge as some of our worst traits: that we can be impulsive, gullible, stubborn, hateful, and murderous.

As far as I'm concerned, the only good thing about "Romeo and Juliet" is that it spawned the plot for "West Side Story," which, although laden with cheese, does highlight some of the more noble facets of the human character (along the less noble) and features some wonderful music. "Romeo and Juliet" will, however, simply annoy anyone with half a brain.

=P