So this time instead of being a year late to something, I decided to show up a month early. I was lucky enough to get a chance to see Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing at the San Francisco International Film Festival; it has a limited release this weekend (6/7), a UK release next weekend (6/14), and a nationwide release the weekend after that (6/21). I’ll come straight out with it, go see this movie as soon as possible.
In many ways it’s exactly what you think it is. How can you go wrong with Shakespeare? (don’t answer that) The story of Much Ado About Nothing is the same as when you read it in high school. Benedict and Beatrice hate each other; Claudio and Hiro are set up, torn down, and brought back together again; Benedict and Beatrice are together in the end (Spoiler Alert).
But this movie, this story, will never be told this way again. A study in tightening the already close reigns of 6 Degrees of Joss Whedon, this movie has an all-star cast including Amy Acker, Alexis Denihof, Fran Kranz, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Reed Diamond, Sean Maher, and Tom Lenk. Because why not get together all the old gang back together? I can’t even begin with how much in awe I am of this cast. People, some of whom as far as I’m aware have never met before, come together to make something awesome.
And awesome here encapsulates beautiful, hysterical, heart-wrenching, emotional, and perfect. That’s right, perfect, because I can think of no other word that is able to sum up this film so well. Practically perfect in every way. Every once and a while I would see something. An angle, a balcony, and I thought to myself, “I know where this is going”. Every time I was wrong. The story was filled with small unexpected things that, thinking back, couldn’t have been done any other way.
There is something for everyone here. The film festival aficionados (it has toured the continent of festivals), the Shakespearean critics, and the Whedonites will all come to this movie in droves and there will not be a single unsatisfied soul in the house. Perhaps I am making much ado about nothing, but what could be more appropriate?
Do you fall into any of the three categories I listed? Which one? When are you planning to see Much Ado About Nothing.
Rachel Ann 