8 reasons we’re still obsessed with ’90s classic “Romeo + Juliet”
We know, we know. Shakespeare’s classic teen romance, Romeo and Juliet, is all kinds of problematic. First of all, they’re like 14. Second, stories where people romantically commit suicide are probably not great.
BUT.
Sometimes when a movie hits you just right, you stop caring about the meta and the message. Particularly if it hits you when your hormones are flying high, and you seriously can’t wait to fall in love. If you were a ’90s or ’00s teen, there’s a good chance that movies was Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 ode to the Bard’s epic, Romeo + Juliet. And the truth is, in our heart of hearts, that movie still has our eternal love, and here’s why.
1Have any humans ever been this beautiful?
Light is basically pouring out of their faces. Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio were so beautiful, it’s almost painful to look at them.
2We still want to wear that angel dress
It would be impossible to sit down in, but we do not care about this.
3Paul Rudd doing the dorkiest dance.
It’s easy to forget Rudd is in this movie as Juliet’s arranged suitor, but OMG his dance moves.
4We would like to fall in love through a fish tank.
Fish tanks: the Snapchat filter of the ’90s.
5That pool scene, though.
Yes, we recognize that this would be wet and uncomfortable, but turning the famous balcony scene into a pool makeout is one of the best adaptations of Shakespeare ever.
6Leo’s fancy shirt.
Maybe it’s just us, but when reading the classic, we just didn’t picture Romeo as a fancy shirt guy. We were incorrect.
7Mercutio’s general awesomeness.
It’s actually easy to get distracted from the love story because Harold Perrineau of Lost fame is doing such a kickass job with the mercurial character.
8This song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTLoTD1AnBE?feature=oembed
Des’ree’s sultry voice still haunts our sexiest dreams.
Sigh. Where’s our burgundy lipstick and collector’s edition DVD? We need to watch Romeo + Juliet again, right now.
