Shake It All About
Reel Affirmations 2003
En Kort En Lang
Rating: 
(4 out of 5)
Friday, 10/17/2003, 7:00 PM
Feature presentation, $9 at Lincoln Theatre
Danish with English subtitles
HIGH MELODRAMA sizzles at the core of director Hella Joof’s whacked-out romantic dramedy, as a woman intrudes on the everlasting happiness of a gay couple, confusing one and leaving the other bitter and alone.
But fear not, for this Bavarian creampuff of a movie, which despite an insane (yet oddly fitting) conclusion, captivates with strong character development and a narrative that turns every which way, including loose.
Jakob (Mads Mikkelsen) proposes to his longtime lover Jorgen (Troels Lyby) at the start of the film, and all seems well until he unexpectedly embarks on an affair with Caroline (Charlotte Munck), the wife of Jorgen’s brother. Once the affair is brought into the open, lives are shattered, happiness, kaput. “I bear a deep sorrow,” says Jorgen, as Jakob quietly packs his belongings to start a new life with Caroline.
Shake It All About bounces back and forth — sometimes wildly — from sobering and serious to light and oh-so-fluffy. It’s as sudsy as any soap opera, but it’s salvaged by sturdy screenwriting by Joof and Klaus Bondam and an absolutely exquisite, richly heartfelt performance from Lyby, who with any luck will one day offer his considerable talents to an American filmmaker.
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