A Knights Tale
A Renaissance Fair on Speed.
By Sam Tannous

: : : Our Rating : : :

From five minutes into this movie, you will know if you like it or if you are going to ask for your money back. My first instinct was to ask for my money back. But I must admit that I'm glad I stuck around as this turned into an enjoyable little movie.

The tale this movie relates is that of William Thatcher, a squire who longs for the thrill of the knighthood. However, no peasant may become a knight, so this dream seems impossible. But when his master dies, William seizes the opportunity to replace him in a jousting tournament, leading him down the path to realizing his dreams.

Convincing his two fellow squires to aid him, William creates the identity of Sir Uric of Liechtenstein with the intent of entering jousting tournaments. The fact that he would be drawn and quartered if it was discovered he was a peasant only serves to remind him that there is a way to better his station.

In addition to his two fellow squires, his band of merry men grows to include, in a bit of politically correct casting, a female Blacksmith and Geoffrey Chaucer who is the writer of the Canterbury Tales. Get it? Knights Tale? Canterbury Tales? If you don't get it, go back to school and stop hanging out in the mall. This motley crew wins tournament after tournament, drawing the ire of the local champion, and gaining the favor of the most beautiful woman in the land (played by the worst actress in the land, who was discovered DJing at Gwyneth Paltrow's birthday party).

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to follow the plot or figure out what happens next. Even with what little I've said above it is not difficult to infer what happens. But the journey to the end is a fun one, especially the rambling introductions by Chaucer when he introduces William at the tournaments.

While this movie was fun, it suffered from a lack of identity. It really wanted to be a movie for the teenage crowd, and rightfully so considering its lead is teen heartthrob Heath Ledger. However, the era in which this movie was set does not appeal to that demographic (does anyone remember Covington Cross?). As a result, you get sequences like the opening joust were the entire crowd was clapping along to, as well as singing, Queen's "We Will Rock You". The crowd at the joust was similar to that at wrestling events with paint on their faces, fat guys with no shirts on, and lots of beer drinking. It simply tried to be too modern to appeal to the younger crowd.

However, if you can get over the Renaissance Festival on speed look it had, the film does a good job in appealing to the crowd who may want to see a period piece that deals with swordplay, jousting, and chivalry. It proved to be an adequate period movie, and an adequate teen movie, but it really could have been excellent if it focused on one and not the other.

By the way, Covington Cross, because I'm sure NO ONE remembers, was a TV show about a Knight and his family starring King Arthur himself, Nigel Terry. It was described as 90210 meets Excalibur. It was good. It lasted about six episodes.