Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing by Joss Whedon is the latest adaptation of the Shakespeare's comedy.

The good. Excellent ideas. Very funny settings and actions. Nice choice of actors. With visual, it's always possible to add non spoken actions to original dialogs and Whedon made some clever extensions. Great photography.

The actors. My favorite performance were by Nathan Fillion, Sean Maher, and Tom Lenk, although I came to appreciate those of Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof a lot.

The bad. The concept of war as spoken in the piece doesn't translate well in modern time.

The ugly. Nothing.

The result. Solid entertainment for those who like modern transposition of Shakespeare's work, A must for any Whedon fan.

Greetings again from the darkness. The previous movie version of William Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing was directed in 1993 by Kenneth Branagh, who also directed Thor (2011). This modernized, much simpler version is directed by Joss Whedon, who also directed The Avengers last year. It's difficult to imagine a more oddball movie symmetry than that! Whedon's production plays almost like a home movie, and in a way it is. Filmed at the director's Santa Monica house with a cast featuring mostly a close group of his friends ... those that frequently gather for Shakespeare dinner parties ... this one exudes a certain joy and love of the material from all involved.

I have always been more attracted to Shakespeare's comedies than his more famous tragedies. His startling wordsmithing is always filled with an edge and is borne of real personalities we all recognize. Combine that with director Whedon's love of rapid-fire, wise-cracking dialogue and we get something from the ilk of Preston Sturges or Howard Hawks screwball comedies.

The banter and battle of wits between Beatrice (Amy Acker) and Benedick (Alexis Denisof) are at the heart of the story. Their flirtations are recognizable as two who doth protest too much ... as if it could hide their mutual attraction. In one of the most pure comedic roles from the pen of Shakespeare comes Dogberry, the detective on the case of the dark conspiracy occurring right under the noses of most characters. Nathan Fillion ("Castle") plays Dogberry in such a manner that he steals every scene in which he appears ... both verbally and physically. He provides some laugh out loud moments.

You will recognize some of the others in Whedon's acting troupe: Reed Diamond plays Don Pedro, Clark Gregg as Leonato, and Fran Kranz as Claudio. Newcomer Jillian Morgese plays Hero, the wronged bride-to-be, whose misfortunes lead to the great Dogberry scenes.

The temptation here is to say that a very entertaining movie can be made simply, cheaply and quickly (12 days filming). Of course, as wonderful as Amy Acker is, the real star is the story from William Shakespeare ... even in this modernized setting. As we all know, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Whedon and his cronies prove this.

I was lucky enough to see Much Ado at the UK premier last weekend, and I'm very glad I got the chance. I've been a big fan of Joss Whedon's work for a long time. However my knowledge of Shakespeare is very little, so I read the play first, which really helped me understand the text and the time period and appreciate some of the humour. I would highly recommend any Whedon fan who isn't familiar with Shakespeare to read the play before you see the film.

Much Ado struck me as a lovely little independent film. It's a delight for fans of Joss, as we get to see many fan favourite actors clearly having a great time. Alexis and Amy both shine, and Nathan was hilarious and great, despite this being his first time doing Shakespeare. The acting from the entire ensemble is consistently engaging, and most importantly, the film is funny throughout. Filmed entirely at Joss's house, which is a beautiful location and made all the better in glorious black and white. This and the understated music really add an interesting atmosphere to the film. After all, it is a 500 year old play put in a modern day setting, so it's kind of other-worldly. As for what this interpretation adds to the much loved play, certainly there are some subtleties of the characters and their lives which Joss has expanded on.

This film is the first to be released through Joss's independent production company Bellwether Pictures, and it bodes very well for the future of Joss's independent film work.

I love this play, and have seen many versions. I was even in a production in New Jersey.

This is an unimpressive version of a great story, and the great moments come from the "writing"as the kids are saying nowadays. The leads may not be terrible actors, but they sure failed to move me here. Even Dogberry was pretty blah and that character can really uplift a failed production. Amongst an uninspiring cast, Don Pedro's character was the best of the bunch. I didn't mind listening to him at all. Even his moments with Claudio and Beatrice were bearable. The music was okay. There were some interesting staging choices, but that doesn't make this worth watching.

I really can't get behind this film, and would recommend going to the theatre, or renting the other film versions.

Well Joss, you have done something no one else has ever accomplished....got me to watch a Shakespeare film. And all I can say is what a treat! For years, I have read about your Shakespeare get togethers at your home and it is nice to see an extension of that on the screen. When I first read that you had filmed this at your home and in only 12 days, I thought it would be unpolished and only available online or via DVD purchase. It appears I was wrong on both counts. This is a great production for anyone that knows your work and the cast you have worked with so many times before. If they do not know your work and see this because it is Shakespeare, I don't believe anyone will leave the theatre disappointed. Congratulations also regarding North American distribution rights being sold at TIFF.

Thanks again on an excellent bit of entertainment and congratulations to you and your amazing cast and crew!