burning like matchsticks in the face of the darkness

I love As You Like It because Rosalind is My FAAAAAAVORITE. There is lots of lovely girlslash between her and Celia, and I love that she runs circles around Orlando (although realistically that probably wouldn't make for the happiest marriage). I also love the layers within layers of cross-dressing: the way she vacillates back and forth between masculine and feminine attitudes both as a man and as a woman make me feel that she is somewhat gender-queer. Also, depending on how it's played, Ganymede and Phebe can have chemistry, which I enjoy, because Rosalind/Ganymede's attraction to Orlando then comes across as trying to convince herself that she's straight and fits into society, when (to me) she's obviously at least bi, and she would never fit into "the norm" of Shakespearean society anyway, because she is clever and headstrong and commanding. So there's that tension there in the ending to me, between the heteronormative happily-ever-after and the fact that Rosalind is really going to queer any relationship she's in. I also feel like Orlando is often played as having an attraction to Ganymede as well as to Rosalind, so that adds to my nice queer happily-ever-after.

I also really like that Jacques is a jester, but is not ever funny or happy. And I do like that he gets a proactive ending, where he's going off to the monastery to learn, which seems like his best step towards shaking his depression.

I did see it again last fall after a long time having not seen it, and I will admit that the first act drags a lot (and not in the good way! :-P ).