Review of Much Ado About Nothing (2013) by Jenna N — 28 Jun 2013

I've been looking forward to this film since the day it was announced on Twitter about 18 months ago. I love Joss, I love Shakespeare, I love half the cast - what could go wrong?

I very much enjoyed the film, a pretty straight adaptation of the play based in Whedon's (utterly beautiful) home in California. The play's wit and warmth is well handled by the principal cast, Amy Acker's Beatrice is a revelation (her 'O, were I a man' speech is stunning) and Alexis Denisof has comic timing that hasn't really been utilised before. When I first heard Sean Maher was playing Don John, I was more than a little dubious but he nailed the part. The pairing of Nathan Fillion and Tom Lenk as Dogberry and Verges was inspired. However, some of the supporting players were quite wooden (I'm talking to you, Borachio) and struggled to get their tongues around the dialogue. There were some clunky bits, but what film doesn't have those?

All small niggles really, as this film is introducing Shakespeare's best comedy to an audience who may never have engaged with it before, and that can never be a bad thing.